‘That door is closed’: Narine makes himself unavailable for T20 World Cup

Sunil Narine ended all speculations about unretiring and making himself available for the upcoming T20 World Cup by stating that the door to international cricket is "now closed" for him. 

The West Indies all-rounder, who announced his retirement from international cricket in November last year, said he was "flattered and humbled" by the admiration he received for his stunning show with both bat and ball in IPL 2024 that got the West Indies captain Rovman Powell, his teammates and former cricketers like Ian Bishop talking about his return for the T20 World Cup.

"I hope this message finds you all well and in good health. I'm truly flattered and humbled that my performances recently have moved many people to publicly express their wish for me to come out of retirement and play in the upcoming T20 World Cup," Narine said.

Narine is having his best IPL as an all-rounder. He has so far scored 286 runs while opening the batting for the Kolkata Knight Riders this year at an average of 40.86 scored at a stunning strike rate of 176.54. He also slammed his maiden T20 century in this edition.

He has been equally good with the ball, picking up 9 wickets in 7 matches at a superb economy rate of 7.11. Narine's exploits with bat and ball have been one of the major reasons behind KKR's dominating show in this IPL. The two-time champions have won five out of their seven games and stand a good chance of finishing in the top two.

Seeing Narine's tremendous all-round show, West Indies T20 skipper, Powell, after a KKR vs DC IPL match, revealed that he has been trying to coax Narine to come out of retirement for close to 12 months now. The right-hander said he has even got in touch with Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo to convince Narine.

"I've asked [Kieron] Pollard, [Dwayne] Bravo, [Nicholas] Pooran. Hopefully, before they select the team," Powell said.

The 35-year-old Trinidadian, however, said he has made peace with the decision to retire and has no plans of representing West Indies in the T20 World Cup slated to begin in June this year.

"I have made peace with that decision and whilst I never wish to disappoint, that door is now closed and I will be supporting the guys who take the field in June for West Indies. Guys who have worked hard for the past few months and deserve to show our wonderful fans that they are capable of winning another title - I wish you all the best," Narine said.

Narine last played for the West Indies in a T20I against India in 2019. In his 51 T20Is, he has picked up 53 wickets at an outstanding economy rate of 6.01.