3 reasons why KKR should drop Sunil Narine in IPL 2023
The legacy of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) cannot be imagined without the contributions of Sunil Narine, whose aura in the team's set-up is as huge as one can imagine.
The Trinidadian is one of the few players who has played more than 10 IPL seasons with the same franchise, and has been vital in the side's two title wins.
When KKR regular skipper Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of the tournament, Narine was among those players who were in the race for the captaincy role in the team in IPL 2023.
He has always been a four-over banker for KKR with his mystery spin, as teams used to play his overs cautiously ever since his debut in 2012. This can be understood by the fact that he has never conceded runs at an economy of 8 or more in any IPL season.
But this year, he is looking like a pale shadow of himself. He has been conceding runs at a relatively higher economy, while scoring just 14 runs in eight innings.
In this article, we will dwell on the reasons why KKR should drop Sunil Narine in the remaining matches of the IPL 2023.
3 reasons why KKR should drop Sunil Narine
#3. Lackluster performance
Sunil Narine is looking like a pale shadow of himself so far this season. His ability to squeeze the runs seems to have gone in IPL 2023. He has been giving runs at an economy of 8.8 picking only seven wickets in 10 matches. With the bat, he has scored just 14 runs in eight innings, surviving only 3.6 deliveries per innings.
KKR management is also losing confidence in him, as he has batted at seven or lower six times in the season.
Also, Kolkata has not used Narine's four overs three times this season. The last season when Narine didn’t bowl his full quota in an IPL game was the 2020 season.
#2. Narine affecting KKR's team balance
Narine, who is not performing up to expectations, has been affecting the team balance as the structure of the KKR squad cries out loud for a death bolwer.
KKR did try Narine in the death overs, but he has been expensive with an economy excess of 9, picking up only two wickets in those overs.
KKR can play the likes of Lockie Ferguson, an outright hit-the-deck fast bowler on flat pitches, or David Wiese, who can smack towering sixes and bowl his cutters on sluggish and two-paced pitches.
#1. More spin options available
Both Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine provide almost the same proponent to the team, with KKR needing either a leg spinner or a left-arm spinner to counter the right-handers in the opponents' lineup.
They did play Suyash Sharma and Anukul Roy to cover these gaps, but even with the availability of the Impact Player rule, they couldn't play them on a regular basis.
Excluding Narine would free up a spinner slot in the team, which will add more teeth to the bowling department on a regular basis.