Narine not worried about omission from Test squad

KOCHI—Spinner Sunil Narine says he is not frustrated by his omission from the West Indies Test team for the just ended two match series against India. Shane Shillingford, the right-arm off spinner, was preferred over Narine, a decision which raised a few eyebrows. Shillingford lived up to the expectations of the selectors by grabbing 11 wickets at 31.45, including two five-wicket hauls and has been retained in the squad for the upcoming New Zealand tour. “You want to play all formats of the game, but I guess we have a lot of spinners back in the Caribbean and I don’t see any reason for me to try too hard and get frustrated if I don’t get picked,” said Narine in an interview with Wisden India. “At the end of the day I am enjoying whatever I am playing and I wish to play as much as I can.”



Former West Indies Captain Brian Lara, who was among those criticizing Narine’s omission, described him as the best spinner in Caribbean first-class cricket. The Trinidadian bowler is expected to play a crucial role in the ODI series against India that starts today. “I just have to do what I’m accustomed to. I’ve trained hard in the nets,” he said. “Just have to concentrate on my game and focus on the job at hand. Different conditions demand different sort of skills, and I’m confident that I’ve developed the skills.” Narine has been plying his trade for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League.





He finished the 2012 edition as the Player of the Tournament with 24 wickets at a miserly 5.47 runs per over and continued in the next edition bagging 22 wickets at 5.46. “I would call it (IPL) a stepping stone in my career,” Narine said. “During the Champions League T20 2011, I was recognised and that helped my confidence and momentum. IPL has helped me reach where I am today.” Prior to their two-game thrashing against India,West Indies have been enjoying success against weaker sides, such as Bangladesh, New Zealand and Zimbabwe. “I don’t think it’s stagnated,” argued Narine. “We’ve been playing good cricket, it’s just the end result of the game that hasn’t been the way we would have wanted it. But we’re on the right track; we’re coming much closer to winning games than before”. (CMC)