Gautam Gambhir had asked me to open first at KKR, reveals Sunil Narine

Despite being started off as a mystery spin bowler, Sunil Narine made a name for himself later on with the addition of a ruthless batting style, that too at the top of the order. Narine first came to open the innings for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2017, five seasons after he joined the franchise to participate in the cash-rich league. He did well with the bat scoring 224 runs at an astonishing strike rate of 172.30 and followed it up with 357 runs at 189.89. His IPL career strike rate of 162.7 has triggered many franchises across the world to use him as a floater at the top.

Recently speaking with Cricket Monthly, Narine talked about the top secret behind his batting at the top. The West Indian revealed that in IPL 2017, it was Gautam Gambhir, the then KKR skipper, who first asked him to open the innings without any worry of losing wickets. The ploy has worked thus far and he has started getting more confidence with time.

“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. The more I performed well, the more confidence KKR had in me and gave me that encouragement,” Narine told Cricket Monthly.

So far, Narine has only played for the Purple and Gold brigade in 148 IPL matches and is likely to retire there as one of their beloved supremos.