Sunil Narine Is the Fine Dining Among IPL's Fast Food

Sunil Narine has been cleared to bowl in the upcoming Indian Premier League. His inimitable action has been cleared at an ICC-accredited centre just days before the tournament begins, per ESPN Cricinfo.  

This news will no doubt come as a relief for Kolkata Knight Riders fans, for whom the West Indian spinner is a star man, but it should also please neutrals.

KKR open the competition against Mumbai Indians on Wednesday at Eden Gardens and the inclusion of Narine will be extremely important.

The statistics only tell half the story of his talent. He is ranked as the second best T20 bowler in the ICC World Rankings. He was the stand-out player in last year’s IPL, taking 21 wickets in 16 matches to help his side win the competition. But it still feels as if we are yet to see his full potential.

In a tournament renowned for brute force, Narine brings a different kind of attraction. In the midst of cheerleaders, flame throwers and six-measuring, the off-spinner will invariably provide a masterclass in deception, flight and wicket-taking.

The 24 balls he is allowed to bowl are a treat. They offer a completely different spectacle. Well-set batsmen become circumspect at best and bamboozled at worst.

Narine rarely delivers six similar balls. He bowls heavy-turning off-breaks, well disguised doosras, tricky carrom or "knuckle" balls, and top-spinners among others.

He is afforded genuine respect. Batsmen have to concentrate hard. You can’t just aim a big swipe at his bowling and hope to send it into the raucous crowd.

The 26-year-old is completely unique. His odd shuffle to the crease with both arms raised intrigues the viewer. You can watch the replay in slow-motion and still not quite understand what delivery he is bowling.

In 2013 he took a hat-trick against Kings XI Punjab which displayed his talent. The first wicket was with a conventional off-break which found some extra bounce and was edged behind. The second was a doosra that caught the leading edge for a caught and bowled. The third was a quicker ball which hit the top of off-stump.

Each a different delivery, each with the same result.

These are not just one-off occurrences either. Under pressure Narine is consistently excellent with the ball in hand.

Last year he was tasked with defending 12 runs in a super over for Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League. He conceded no runs. Off only one delivery did a batsman make contact with the ball—it was caught on the boundary.

Gallo Images/Getty Images

Batsmen are often made to look foolish. Some attempt wild swings, but they generally result in a miss. Others spend time, prodding and poking around in a vain attempt to try to acclimatise. This tends to result in a drying up of runs and a pressure-induced wicket.  

Spin bowlers occupy the top seven spots of the ICC T20 bowler rankings. Skilful ones possess the ideal skill set—they are hard to score off and pick up wickets.

But even among the best Narine stands out.  

The IPL is the fast food of cricket. It is an instantly gratifying experience—the kebab after a night in the pub. The modern fan enjoys the cheap thrills of big hits, fast bowlers smashing light-up stumps and endless gimmicks, just like they enjoy the greasy donner meat.

Narine offers a completely separate aspect. He is the fine dining among the proliferation of fast food.