West Indies off-spinner Sunil Narine said he is a little more relaxed and settled ahead of the ICC World Cup after his match-winning performance for Trinidad and Tobago Red Force in the final of the Nagico Super50 at Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain on Sunday night.
However doubts have now surfaced about his participation in the tournament.
Speculation over the off-spinner’s participation in the World Cup was sparked by a tweet yesterday from West Indies Players Association president Dinanath Ramnarine which stated that Narine “will be out of the WC 2015. I wish Sunil all d (the) best as he continues to work very hard on his bowling issues.”
The player himself did not squash the talk.
Asked by TV6 if it was true that he is out of the World Cup squad, Narine said: “Nothing has been confirmed about the situation at the moment. I am waiting for a couple of days to find out what’s going on, before I can say anything else.”
Narine did not mention any issues relating to his participation in the World Cup when he spoke to the media following T&T’s 135-run win over Guyana Jaguars on Sunday night when he snatched his best limited overs figures of six wickets for nine runs.
Before the Super50 final, Narine had only collected six wickets in four matches as the opposition batsmen opted to play him out rather than taking him on.
The Guyanese tried to do the same in the final but Narine was too good on the night as he finished the tournament as the leading bowler, edging Guyana’s Veerasammy Permaul (11 wickets) into second place.
The spinner returned to action for the Nagico Super50 after being out of cricket since October last year when he was suspended from bowling in the Champions League Twenty20 final after being called for a suspect action.
He was subsequently withdrawn from the West Indies team for the ill-fated tour of India and also missed the ongoing tour of South Africa before being named in the West Indies World Cup squad.
“It feels good coming out there and being able to perform the way I did,” he said following Sunday’s victory.
The Jaguars had no clue how to play Narine, who struck in his first over to trigger the Guyanese batting collapse which saw them slip from 36 without loss to 65 all out.
“It was questionable how it would have been, coming back, but I had a couple of good performances and it is something to keep my mind settled and always keep me working hard at my game,” Narine added.
He said he always believed in himself and knew he was capable of pulling off something special.
“I always knew I had it in me but it was just to go out there and give my all and continue working hard and hoping for the best,” he said. “My goal was just trying to help the team win, it was not really to dominate or anything like that. Trinidad winning was my main goal.”
He also praised the efforts of Jason Mohammed in the T&T win.
Mohammed scored an unbeaten 117 to take T&T to a competitive 200 for eight which set up the victory.
“I think it was a total team effort. Jason Mohammed batted like someone who has been playing this cricket for a while. The character he showed was brilliant and I think there is something in the future for him,” Narine added.
Looking ahead Narine said he was comfortable with his action. “Everything should be good hopefully. We’ll see how things go and then take it from there. It is a good thing bowling (in the Super50) and I am just enjoying it,”
The spinner was also happy to see the stands full and fans coming out to support the Red Force.
“When you playing home you always enjoy it. The fans are always there with you and I think once you are doing well, the fans will always have your back,” Narine added.
