Sunil Narine in KKR (L) & Shah Rukh Khan (Source: AFP Photos)
Sunil Narine, arguably the best T20 player of all time, is going strong even at the age of 39. Not just with the ball, Narine showed the world he can be KKR’s stopgap solution for IPL 2027 even with the bat as well.
Playing for Trinbago Knight Riders, Narine smashed a CPL half-century on Saturday. He smashed 55 off 33 balls, laced with six sixes and one four during the TKR vs Barbados Tridents CPL match.
After that, within less than 24 hours, Narine notched up a half-century once again, this time against Jamaica Kingsmen. It was more quickfire, as 53 runs came off just 24 deliveries, which had six fours and three sixes.
It was Narine’s fifth CPL half-century overall. Before two fifties in two days, he smashed a fifty in the competition back in 2020.
KKR Unfazed By Rahane’s Retirement; Narine Emerges As Opening Options
In a surprising move, KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane retired from all forms of cricket after IPL 2026. Therefore, the Knight Riders think tank had to make plans for Rahane’s replacement at the top.
However, it seems like they already have Narine to fix the issue, as he has done wonders in the past while batting at the same position.
In IPL 2024, Narine had possibly enjoyed his best-ever season in the competition’s history. Coming to open, he had aggregated 488 runs in 15 matches at a strike rate of 180.74. With the ball, as usual, he had an extremely impressive economy rate of 6.69, picking up 17 wickets in 15 matches.
In IPL, Narine has seven half-centuries and one hundred over the years.
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However, KKR did not continue with him at the top in the IPL, with Rahane there and Finn Allen joining them. However, there are good chances that they might have Allen and Narine at the top for IPL 2027, as things stand.
What If KKR Do Not Give Sunil Narine Chance To Open?
Nevertheless, KKR do have quite a few opening options in their mix for IPL 2027. Among them, in case Narine misses out on opening options for the upcoming edition, Sarthak Ranjan proves to be the most ideal person as Rahane’s replacement.
Playing in the Delhi Premier League (DPL) 2026, Ranjan averages over 50 for his 493 runs in nine innings while coming to open for North Delhi Strikers as captain. He even opens for the Delhi state team as well.
Therefore, there is little doubt that he, in all likelihood, has emerged as the most reliable uncapped opener for KKR to pair with Allen in IPL 2027.
Besides, they do have Tim Seifert as well, while Angkrish Raghuvanshi can bat at the top too if given the chance. Moreover, they can sign another player when the mini-auction happens at some point later this year.
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