Sunil Narine retires from international cricket
- By Web Desk -
- Nov 05, 2023
West Indies spinner Sunil Narine has announced his retirement from international cricket, four years after he played his last game for his side.
The 35-year-old bowler – who last played a T20I in 2019 – retired as the fourth highest wicket-taker for the West Indies in T20Is (52 in 51 matches), also taking 92 wickets in ODIs and 21 wickets in six Tests.
Along with his international retirement, he also announced his exit from domestic 50-over cricket.
In a note on social media, Sunil Narine thanked his “fans, peers and loved ones”, expressing the support he has received through his career.
“I appreciate it has been over 4 years since I last played for West Indies but today I am announcing my retirement from International cricket. Publicly I am a man of few words, but privately there are a few people who have given me unwavering support throughout my career and helped me realise my dream of representing West Indies and to you I express my deepest gratitude,” the spinner wrote on Instagram.
“I am also taking this opportunity to bow out of domestic 50 over cricket. I love representing Trinidad & Tobago, the country of my birth, and to add another title by winning this current Super50 Cup will be the perfect send off,” he added.
Since 2012, Narine has been a regular fixture in the Kolkata Knight Riders squad and is now a familiar face in the T20 circuit across the world, which is now “business as usual” for him in the foreseeable future.
“Needless to say, outside of this it will continue to be business as usual for me in the franchise world for the foreseeable future,” he concluded.
Narine came into limelight in the now defunct Champions League T20 for Trinidad & Tobago in 2011 before making his international debut in an ODI in December later that year.
He helped West Indies to their first T20 World Cup title in 2012 – their first World Cup win across formats since 1979 – with nine wickets in the competition.
Sunil Narine’s Test career promised much, but couldn’t progress beyond six appearances, in which he took two six-wicket hauls, as many as he took in one-dayers. His last Test came in 2013, and the last ODI in 2016.