Team KKR in action© BCCI
Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders head coach Chandrakant Pandit confirmed that all-rounder Sunil Narine has recovered from his illness and will be available for the clash against Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium on Monday. Narine missed KKR’s last match against Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati after reporting ill on the morning of the encounter. He was replaced by Moeen Ali in that match, who went on to make vital contributions with the ball in KKR’s first win of the season.
“I’ve been practising well, and I just try to be ready all the time. I got told this morning that Sunny [Narine] was not well and to just be ready whenever. Obviously, hard to replace Sunny but I felt like I did a nice job of it,” Moeen said after the match about his unexpected season debut.
“You’re just waiting for your turn and when the chance comes, you try and take it as much as you can. But on some wickets like today, I probably used my experience as much as I could to actually keep it simple, keep the stumps in play, keep the line to the left-handers in particular quite straight and just try and spin the ball,” said.
In the tournament opener against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Eden Gardens, Narine struck 26-ball 44 studded with five fours and three sixes before returning with the figures of 1-27 in his four overs.
“He (Narine) is at training, with the rest of the team at Wankhede,” KKR said in a statement on Saturday.
Narine is likely to return to KKR’s playing 11 for the match against Mumbai. The Hardik Pandya-led side suffered their second consecutive loss of the season with a 36-run defeat against Gujarat Titans on Saturday.
The five-time champions will hope for a comeback in their first home game of the season on Monday.
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