West Indies spinner Sunil Narine has called time on his international career. The 35-year-old revealed his decision via a post on his instagram page while also re-affirming that he will continue to play franchise cricket around the world.
Narine broke into the limelight during the 2011 Champions League T20 and made his international debut in the same year for West Indies. While he played only six Tests, with his last appearance in the format coming almost a decade ago, he played a prominent role in West Indies winning the World T20 in 2012.
Narine also took the IPL by storm in his very first season in 2012 when he was named the Player of the Tournament, helping Kolkata Knight Riders win the title. While he continued his merry ways for two more seasons, he was suspended from bowling in international cricket in November 2015.
He was cleared to bowl again in April 2016 but post that, he managed to play only a handful of games for West Indies, with his most recent appearance coming in August 2019 in a T20I. Later on, despite showcasing form in the IPL, Narine wasn’t considered by West Indies for the T20 World Cup in 2021 after failing to meet the required fitness standards. Overall, the 35-year-old has picked 165 wickets across formats in international cricket.
“I appreciate it has been over four years since I last played for West Indies but today I am announcing my retirement from international cricket,” Narine said. “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.
“I would like to acknowledge and thank Cricket West Indies, the coaching staff, passionate West Indies fans and of course my teammates who enabled me play at the highest level, in all formats and with some memorable successes.”
Narine also confirmed that the ongoing Super50 Cup will be his final tournament in List A cricket. ‘Winning this current Super50 Cup will be the perfect send-off,” he said. “Needless to say, outside of this it will continue to be business as usual for me in the franchise world in the foreseeable future.”
