West Indies captain Kieron Pollard has said that Sunil Narine can return to the T20 team after gaining confidence in his bowling action. Narine, who was given a warning for a suspicious action in last year's IPL, has not been included in the squad to play South Africa in the five-match T20I series starting on Saturday. Earlier this year, following his absence from the T20 squad to play Sri Lanka, Narine told the selectors that he was "not ready" to return to international cricket.
"He (Narayan) had indicated to the selectors that he might be available after the IPL," Pollard said. "Then, the IPL was halved, so he might not have got the necessary preparation or confidence in his action, so he indicated that he's still not ready. We'll play it by ear as we go on "
Narine last played for West Indies in a series against India in August 2019, but there have been complaints about his bowling action since 2014. He was a part of the first part of this year's IPL and played for Trinidad and Tobago in the Super 50 Cup where he did well with the ball. Given that spinners are likely to play a key role in the next T20 World Cup, be it in India or the United Arab Emirates, Narine could be a key player for West Indies; But for now, they'll have to plan without him.
It's no different from the way West Indies are usually forced to prepare for big tournaments - without big-name players - and Pollard explained that this is a reason for their bilateral record. West Indies have won only two of their last eight T20I series but are the current T20 World Cup holders and have won the title once in 2012 before that.
"We have had good results in the ICC tournament and I don't want to change that," Pollard said. "It's just that when it comes to series like this, it's about people being available or not. In the World Cup, we get the people we want to play."
But West Indies have several superstars available for the South Africa series - with Chris Gayle, Andre Russell and Dwayne Bravo in the squad. But it has come with its own criticisms that Pollard is well aware of. "We hear noise, sometimes loud and clear. When you look at it from a logical point of view, if you only go with young people, there will still be noise. Whatever you do, there will be noise."
Gayle is 41 years old, Fidel Edwards is 39 years old, Bravo is 37 years old, Lendl Simmons is 36 years old and Pollard is 34 years old. The average age of the 13-man group is 31 years and nine months, and an obvious concern is whether West Indies are doing enough to ensure a smooth transition from one generation to the next, or whether they will have one when senior players retire. Emptiness will remain.
For now, Pollard isn't thinking about it, but rather how to get the best out of the players he has.
"If these guys are assets to us, why not use up a little bit of the cricket they have left?" He asked. "Some of these guys play around the world and then when we see them around the world, we ask why they aren't playing for us, and now they are."