The defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will take on Rajasthan Royals in match no. 25 of the Pepsi Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015 at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Sunday. The bad news is they will not have Sunil Narine in their squad and this might be a huge psychological blow for the side, reported PTI.
Narine's bowling action was reported yet again after the Sunrisers Hyderbad (SRH) and KKR match, which was won by the former. He will undergo a re-test at the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) accredited testing facility SRASSC in Chennai and therefore will not be available for the game against the Royals.
Narine has been termed an asset by the KKR team who stood by his side throughout his tough times. But after he remodelled his action, he has been rather ordinary in all the matches he has played so far. His economy has been on the higher side in this edition of the IPL (7.35), whereas his IPL career economy is 5.92. In these five matches, he has only picked up two wickets, which is very unlikely of Narine.
Although it will be a major blow to the KKR team, it seems they have their back-up plans ready. They have the likes of Johan Botha, Bradd Hogg, Kuldeep Yadav and KC Cariappa in their squad, besides Piyush Chawla and Yusuf Pathan. So they can replace Narine for Sunday's game with any of the above-mentioned spinners.
