Trinbago Knight Riders owner banking on spinner Narine

Trinbago Knight Riders owner banking on spinner Narine
By RENALDO MATADEEN Saturday, February 13 2016

OWNER OF the rebranded Trinbago Knight Riders, Venky Mysore, has expressed the utmost confidence in his side retaining the 2016 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) title, won last year as Red Steel, with newly acquired, Sunil Narine, labelled as his trump card.

Mysore also heaped praise on the squad he and coach, Simon Helmot, assembled in the draft, which will see Dwayne Bravo continue as skipper, with marquee players such as Brendon McCullum (New Zealand) and Hashim Amla (South Africa) joining ranks.

Mysore stated that on purchase of the franchise in 2015, Narine was the biggest request from fans and the primary objective was to deliver the off-spinner, currently banned by the ICC and undergoing rehabilitative action which led to him opting out the World T20 for West Indies.

On signing Narine, he said, “We were hopeful we could make it happen. We had a very good civil discussion with (Guyana) Amazon Warriors (for him) and we’re excited to have him. He’s working harder than he’s ever worked before on his action and we’ve supported where possible.

I’ve had a long chat with Carl Crowe who’s working with Sunil and we’ve got no concerns at all.

He’s been a lucky charm for us in the IPL (Indian Premier League) too so hopefully he’ll continue to perform well. I’ve no doubts. The best of Sunil is going to be seen.” He remained adamant that Narine would turn out in the CPL despite the Windies pullout.

He also heaped praise on Bravo’s return as skipper after the debut title, describing the reappointment as a “foregone conclusion”.

“We have a nice core. We also got Kevon Cooper back and what was equally exciting was the opportunity for McCullum. He was excited to be part of the Knight Riders family again. He’s announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket which makes him a nice free agent. He’ll be here for the entire duration. We have a really good nucleus,” he stated, with reference on the outgoing Black Caps skipper, who had two stints with Kolkata in the IPL.

Mysore also remained optimistic of luring the fully-retired Jacques Kallis back into a mentor role after helping guide Bravo’s team to gold last year. The owner also believes that this year’s draft has yielded the most balanced edition and placed faith on wildcard picks - Yannic Cariah and Ramnaresh Sarwan, comparing them to when KKR signed an unheralded Andre Russell in the past.

“We’ve got some real quality so there’s no regrets from the draft.

You never know who could be the next Russell. We will have a strong drive towards the defence of the title.” He mentioned that they would be focusing on a spin-oriented bowling attack given the history of CPL pitches.

Mysore lamented losing Samuel Badree to St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots but admitted he had to sacrifice the number one ranked ICC T20 bowler to land Narine.

However, he believes the presence of Suliemann Benn, Cariah and new signing Nikita Miller would help offset the loss.