Former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir says Sunil Narine is probably the greatest bowler in the IPL, back in 2011 when he made his ODI debut against India. He had a premonition that the West Indian would become a legend in T20 cricket. The captain and current team mentor revealed that he decided to play Narine in the IPL after seeing him during West Indies’ debut series in 2011. “I must have met seven or eight deliveries and I thought that was the one who was going to go out,” Gambhir said on the KKR Knights Dugout podcast.

“Look where Sunil Narine is now? Probably the greatest bowler in the history of IPL,” he said.

Narine has taken 170 wickets in his IPL career and has scored 1322 runs, including 100 runs, in the 168 league games he has played so far.

He made his debut in the third ODI against India in Ahmedabad in December 2011, when he returned with figures of 2/34, dismissing Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin.

But it was not until the fourth ODI in Indore that Gambhir faced Narine for the first time. Narine returned with figures of 0/46 in six games but Gambhir was determined that the Trinidadian would be his first-choice bowler in the 2012 IPL. Narine emerged as KKR’s mystery bowler, taking 24 wickets in 2012, second-highest behind Morne Morkel’s 25, helping KKR win the IPL title for the first time in 2012.

In 2014, when they won the title for the second time, Narine became their second-highest wicket-taker with 21 scalps. Gambhir then discovered Narine’s batting potential and promoted him to open for KKR.

This time, he had great success hitting the ball while also maintaining control of the ball.

After playing a similar role with the Lucknow Supergiants for the past two seasons, Gambhir, who has returned as a mentor to the franchise, said his motto for KKR this season is “Be brave” and “I strongly believe it is not the most talented ball.” This is the bravest team that is willing to fight to the last drop of blood and will continue to win the IPL. The mantra of this season is that we need to be brave.

“We should have the courage to stay positive all the time. If you go that route, I’m very, very bullish on the talent we have in the locker room. If we fight, if we fight bravely and fight for everyone in the locker room, for everyone Fight for the fans that support us and if we do that, I think we’ll be in a good position,” he added.

Gambhir further recalled how team owner Shah Rukh Khan supported him during the poor run in 2014 and told him “you won’t give up on yourself until you come here”.

This became the motivation for him to perform well in 2014 and win the championship.

“I cannot take one point in four games. I have said it many times that I think he is the best owner I have ever worked with. It is not because I am part of KKR now or because I was Be a part of KKR.”

“I don’t think in the seven years I was captaining KKR, we didn’t even have a seven-minute cricket conversation, except for the period I was going through.

“We had a conversation that time, too, because I was on the verge of falling. The only thing he told me was that until you get here, you’re not going to fall.

“Imagine being an owner who has achieved so much and he doesn’t even talk about cricket or ask you anything about your decision-making.

“I’m not saying I made all the right decisions. But he never questioned my decisions and that was his trust in me,” he concluded. PTI TAP SSC AT AT

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