I just don't want to rush back to international cricket: Sunil Narine

Windies off-spinner Sunil Narine has cleared that he doesn’t want to rush back to international cricket as he hasn’t played enough One-Day cricket at domestic level. Everything is not right between the players and the cricket board as the likes of Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Andre Rusell along with Narine denied playing for Windies in the ICC World Cup qualifiers. However, Narine has come up with a statement now after Pollard had earlier thrashed the board for ruining his cricket career.

West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) announced the ODI squad recently for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers. The main event is set to be played in England next year. Windies team will be under immense pressure to qualify and if they fail to do so, it would be a huge blow to their cricketing future. They would’ve loved to have their gun players, but as it stands, for now, they would be playing without them.

Playing for West Indies is the ultimate goal

Sunil Narine completely denied the fact that he discarded playing for the national team to participate in Pakistan Super League (PSL) which starts later this month. “It’s nothing like that. I just don’t want to rush back into International cricket and the 50-over game. I think I need to play some 50-overs cricket at the regional level and get accustomed again. I don’t want to rush back into it (international cricket) and make a mess of myself,” he said during his presence in the TV show.

The off-spinner also added that he will assess himself in the ongoing Super50 tournament and check if he is enjoying the game and then decide on his return. “I think it’s about my self-performance, self-belief and trying to go out there and perform for T&T and once I can do that I will be available for West Indies again. I think playing for the West Indies is the ultimate goal. I think you must try and enjoy your cricket and enjoy it no matter what. So, I will see how these games go in the Super50 and if I am comfortable and enjoying it, why not, I will play for West Indies again,” Narine added.

The 29-year-old believed that the selected players will surely help Windies qualify for the World Cup and advised them to enjoy the cricket. “I think they can [qualify]. They have a good team. They just need to enjoy the cricket, be positive and once they are enjoying it, they can play as well as they want to,” he concluded.

Narine last played for Windies in October 2016 in a limited overs series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates.