Opposition Didn't Take Me That Seriously – Sunil Narine On His Early Days As T20 Opener

West Indies all-rounder Sunil Narine is fondly known to deceive the batters with his turn and tricks. In the middle of his illustrious T20I career, Narine rose to prominence as an opener for his hard-hitting prowess. 

Narine assumed the opener’s role for the first time during his stint with Melbourne Renegades alongside Aaron Finch. Narine was given the same responsibility at Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL 2017 by then skipper Gautam Gambhir.

Gautam Gambhir wanted me to get the team off to a fast start: Sunil Narine

In his first task of opening in the cash-rich league, Narine smashed a brisk half-century against Royal Challengers Bangalore in just 15 balls, it was the joint-highest fifty in the league at that point. 

Narine said he took his new role seriously and just intended to charge down against the bowlers. 

“Gautam Gambhir asked me to open. He wanted me to get the team off to a fast start, it didn’t matter if I lost my wicket early. Nobody could plan too much for me as I was still new to the role, the opposition didn’t take me that seriously, and I went from strength to strength,” Narine was quoted as saying in the latest edition of Cricket Monthly.

I bat in a different role for every team I play for: Sunil Narine

Narine continued to open the innings for KKR even after Gambhir’s departure from the franchise. However, in recent years, the left-hander has again been pushed down the order. He batted in various positions for KKR in IPL 2022, including the one to open the innings.

He batted in the lower order for Oval Invincibles in the inaugural edition of the Men’s Hundred and it was the same for Surrey in the latest T20 Blast season.

“It’s a trend I’ve set for myself, every team I play for now, I bat in a different role. It’s good and bad – I can try different roles as a batter but I don’t have that secure position in the order. One tournament I might be doing well in the middle of the order but then in the next one I may have to open the batting,” Narine said.

Narine will play for the Invincibles in the second season of The Hundred, starting on August 3.

Also Read: Things Happen For A Reason And Hopefully, In The Future, I’ll Be Wearing Maroon Again – Sunil Narine On West Indies Comeback