“Sunil, please come back!” was the resounding cry from the cricket fraternity. The Sunil I am referring to is none other than champion spinner Sunil Narine. It came about following his recent sterling performances, especially with the bat, in the current Indian Premier League (IPL) for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
Over the last couple of years, he has been used as an opener for most franchise teams he plays for, but in notching his first century, he has shown that he has the ability with the bat, which has been known all along. He is among the top 10 run scorers in the tournament this year and with the ball, he has taken four scalps less than the top wicket-takers.
Based on those figures alone, it’s relatively easy to understand why the call for him to return to the West Indies team for the 2024 T20 World Cup had been made. Sunil was always capable with the bat as he started as an opener and a medium-pace bowler, but soon realised his strength was in his spin bowling. Somewhere along the line, his batting fell away but his ability was always there, and he must have grasped at the opportunity to open at these franchise teams.
Sunil had the license to go out and attack the bowling from the first ball he faced, but you could hear the moans and groans from the crowds when, at times, he appeared to give his wicket away to injudicious shots. In essence, he was sent out to give his team an electrifying start and was often given the license to attack with full force.
Sunil has remained very humble through all his successes. He would usually turn up first for practice, advising the younger players and just generally being a good team player. He would have been seen speaking to the youngsters and his teammates, be it KKR, TKR (Trinbago Knight Riders (Trinbago Knight Riders), Los Angeles Knight Riders, Abu Dhabi Knight Riders and the other 30 teams he has represented around the world, and I am sure if you ask any of his teammates, the name Sunil Narine would always come in for high praise.
What is also very admirable about this man is what he went through during his career when he was no-balled for throwing, which happened on more than one occasion. At that time, it would have been so easy for him to pack it in and play club cricket and enjoy his career, but not Sunil Narine. He hired a bowling coach, and in the morning, noon, and night, he worked on his game. He remodelled his action and came back mentally stronger than ever and was still the number one draft for most teams in the world of T20 cricket.
Behind the scenes, outside of the region, you would hear people still questioning the legality of his action especially when he would have batsmen bamboozled as to which way the ball was turning. I am sure that would have played on his mind, but his temperament is one of calmness, and it would have appeared to me that he would have blocked out all the negativity that surrounded him throughout his career’s tough times.
He has resisted the call from one and all, including his teammates, to return for one last time as he made his mind up a long time ago that he would quit international cricket. His decision must be respected. As an athlete, when that difficult decision faces you, and you decide for one reason or another that you have had enough, there is no turning back. Sunil has given his all for his country and, by extension, the region and no doubt we will continue to follow his exploits in franchise cricket as he enjoys the game playing at that level. The West Indies now need to select the best possible team to compete at the T20 World Cup, and whatever the composition of the team is, they must be given the best preparation to win the tournament and make the entire region proud of West Indies cricket.
Staying with cricket, I read that the Red Force coach, David Furlonge, was pleased with the performance of the Red Force team despite finishing fifth in this year’s eight-team West Indies Championship, which included the Combined Campuses and Colleges and the West Indies Academy. Now, of the traditional teams, T&T finished only above Jamaica, and the coach is pleased. Oh no, David! Then, the excuse was that if the first game had not rained out, the Red Force would have been denied some crucial points. Let me just check and see who won the tournament. Wasn’t the same Guyana Harpy Eagles that suffered the same fate as the Red Force in that opening encounter? Perhaps the difference is that they played good, consistent and positive cricket.
As I articulated previously, the Red Force team has a plethora of talent. You can highlight the batting of specific individuals and the bowling of both the quicker men and the spinners. You could point out centuries, five-wicket hauls, etc, but the fact remains that finishing in fifth place, even with an abandoned match, is simply not good enough. Something is wrong when you play one good match and one lousy match and continue on that run of form.
Again, we are looking for excuses for a difficult pitch; isn’t it the same for both teams? Instead, tell me the players did not apply themselves during crucial periods of games, and if that is so, why is that so? The Red Force hierarchy needs to look beyond the team’s talent and see if there is some underlying problem within the team. Coaching cannot be the problem; therefore, is it a lack of mental toughness, or is it when the going gets tough that some players don’t show the mental strength required to see the Red Force through?
I, too, see the players, and I, too, see a lot of talent, so it has little to do with that. We can go through all the T&T players and line them up against most of the other countries, and they would stand up equally against all of them player by player, so something does not sit well with me. Perhaps a different mental approach needs to be looked at. Unfortunately, I am not getting that positivity with the red ball team as I am getting with the white ball team.
I had a school principal who would say, “... we go beat them next year!” The Red Force should not adopt that approach and must simply walk the talk!