Sunil Narine

Profile details

FULL NAME

Sunil Narine

TEAMS

Abu Dhabi Knight Riders

The mystery spinner who opens the batting

Narine is a left-handed batter and right-arm off-break bowler whose mystery spin has troubled batters for more than a decade. He was one of four players the Knight Riders retained before the Season 5 auction, and he is the most important cricketer in their squad.

His record is extraordinary: two IPL titles with Kolkata Knight Riders in 2012 and 2014, the 2012 T20 World Cup with West Indies, and more than 500 T20 wickets at an economy rate that has stayed under seven across his career. He has also reinvented himself as an opener, scoring hundreds in the IPL and the CPL, and his 2024 IPL season — 488 runs and 17 wickets — was one of the great all-round seasons in the league's history. In the ILT20, he opens the bowling and often the batting. No other player in the league does both jobs as well as he does.

Career so far

Narine made his West Indies debut in 2011 and was a key member of the side that won the 2012 T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka. He has played in every major T20 league in the world — the IPL, the Big Bash, the CPL, the PSL, the ILT20 — and he has been Kolkata Knight Riders' most valuable player for more than a decade.

His bowling is built on mystery: a knuckle ball, a carrom ball, and an off-break that is almost impossible to pick, all delivered with the same action. His batting has grown just as much — he has scored T20 hundreds as an opener in the IPL and the CPL, and his strike rate in the powerplay is among the best in the world. At 38, he remains one of the first names on any T20 team sheet in the world.

The side built around him

The Knight Riders are built around Narine. He opens the bowling, he often opens the batting, and he is the player the captain turns to when a game needs winning. Around him sit Jason Holder, Moeen Ali and Gulbadin Naib — three more all-rounders — and a spin attack that also features Qais Ahmad and Arab Gul.

That structure only works because Narine does two jobs. When he opens the batting and scores quickly, the middle order can play with freedom; when he bowls four overs for 20 runs, the seamers can attack at the other end. The Knight Riders' first ILT20 title, if it comes this season, will have Narine's fingerprints all over it.

What’s next

Narine's season starts on 22 November against Dubai Capitals in Dubai, and the Knight Riders' first home game follows against MI Emirates on 26 November in Abu Dhabi. The full list of every ILT20 fixture is on the ILT20 Schedule.

• Match 3 — Dubai Capitals: Sunday 22 November 2026, evening session, Dubai.
• Match 7 — MI Emirates: Thursday 26 November 2026, evening session, Abu Dhabi.
• Match 11 — Sharjah Warriorz: Sunday 29 November 2026, afternoon session, Abu Dhabi.
• Match 13 — MI Emirates: Monday 30 November 2026, evening session, Abu Dhabi.
• Match 15 — Desert Vipers: Wednesday 2 December 2026, afternoon session, Abu Dhabi.
• Match 17 — Gulf Giants: Thursday 3 December 2026, evening session, Dubai.
• Match 19 — Gulf Giants: Saturday 5 December 2026, evening session, Abu Dhabi.
• Match 24 — Sharjah Warriorz: Wednesday 9 December 2026, evening session, Sharjah.
• Match 27 — Desert Vipers: Saturday 12 December 2026, evening session, Dubai.
• Match 30 — Dubai Capitals: Monday 14 December 2026, evening session, Abu Dhabi.
• Playoffs: Qualifier 1 on Tuesday 16 December, the Eliminator on Wednesday 17 December, Qualifier 2 on Friday 18 December, and the final on Sunday 20 December in Dubai.

Follow every ILT20 result as it happens on SialTV, with the points table updated after every match day.