IPL 7: Gambhir supports Narine’s decision to honour his IPL commitment

Bengaluru: Sunil Narine’s decision to honour his IPL commitment with Kolkata Knight Riders and skip the West Indies Test series against New Zealand next month has opened up the debate over club vs country commitments.

Not surprisingly, his skipper Gautam Gambhir backed him but having said that several eyebrows shot up when the southpaw said he would have done the same, if caught in a similar situation.

In the past, the West Indies Cricket Board had acceded to Chris Gayle’s request to stay on with the Royal Challengers Bangalore and report late for the Test series against England, a move that came in for flak from several disgruntled critics.

Having been given a June 1 deadline, all the West Indies players have been able to make it save for Narine, following the Knight Riders’ entry into the final.
With the WICB sticking to their guns and refusing to extend time for Narine, the mystery spinner, who has not signed a contract with the board, opted out of the Test series. It was a big decision and received huge support from Gambhir.

“It is unfair for the player. His team has reached the final and he is being forced to miss the final. Somewhere down the line, you as a cricketer don’t want to do that where you have taken the team to the final and you just walk away,” said Gambhir, mincing no words.

“It is just one game which is left and you have to leave that game. He has taken the right decision, he wanted to continue playing for KKR because it is an important game, not a dead rubber.

“Any player would have taken the decision, so I completely support him. If I were in his position, I would have done the same thing.”