St John’s [Antigua], February 28 (ANI): West Indies chief selector Roger Harper has said that spinner Sunil Narine has indicated that he is still not ready to return to international cricket.
Narine has not been included in West Indies’ squad for three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka. The spinner had played four games for Trinidad and Tobago in the Super50 Cup but he missed Saturday’s final through injury.
“Sunil Narine had indicated earlier that he is not ready to return to international cricket. He is still fine-tuning his game and getting himself ready. From that perspective, he was not considered for this series,” ESPNCricinfo quoted Roger Harper, Cricket West Indies’ lead selector as saying.
Narine has not played for West Indies in any format since August 2019. He was also placed on a ‘warning list’ amid suspicions of an illegal bowling action during last year’s IPL.
Later on IPL 2020, Narine was cleared to bowl but has since been cleared to bowl. In Narine’s absence, Akeal Hosein, Kevin Sinclair and Fabian Allen will be West Indies’ main spin options in the upcoming T20I matches against Sri Lanka.
West Indies also named Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo in their T20 squad for the series against Sri Lanka.
The T20 World Cup is set to be played later this year in India in October-November and the duo is likely to have that tournament as their swansong before retiring. (ANI)