IPL 2021: "You've got to pick him because he is so accurate" - Gautam Gambhir on Sunil Narine 

Two-time IPL-winning captain Gautam Gambhir has shed some light on how to play his former teammate Sunil Narine. The Caribbean all-rounder broke through and blossomed under Gambhir's captaincy during their time together with the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Narine was at his best in the IPL 2021 Eliminator fixture against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Sharjah on Monday. He ended up with impressive figures of 4-21, which is also the best return by a bowler for the franchise in the IPL 2021 playoffs stage.

Gambhir noted how reading Narine's variations is the key to facing him. While speaking to ESPN Cricinfo, Gambhir said:

"You've got to pick him, as simple as it gets because he is so accurate. He bowls wicket to wicket. He is not a big turner of the ball, he is only going to beat your edge by a small distance. Maybe you can look to target him on the off side. A lot of teams look to target him on the leg side and that's where he is most dangerous because he bowls a lot of knuckleballs as well."

While certainly not at his peak anymore with suggestions of his bowling action hampering his progress, Narine is still one of the most impactful and consistent bowlers when it comes to the T20 format.

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He wants them to play on the leg side: Gambhir on Narine's strategy

Gambhir stressed the importance of playing Narine more on the off side because of the illusion he sets with his field. This leads to batters believing that he will bowl conventional off-spin. Gambhir noted how the majority of batsmen perish to him while playing on the leg side and added:

"So probably try to go inside out over cover or over even the bowler's head. I know it's easier said than done. But that's probably the easy way out because of the kind of fieldsets he does. He makes people believe that he is an off-spinner but he is not. He wants them to play on the leg side."

Narine bowled a memorable spell of 4-21 to derail RCB's innings and help them restrict to 138-7 in their 20 overs. He picked up the key wickets of Virat Kohli, KS Bharat, Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers.