Narine set for return despite latest report

The Kolkata Knight Riders are confident mystery spinner Sunil Narine will feature in their Indian Premier League opener despite his bowling action coming in for more recent scrutiny.

Narine was cited for a suspected illegal action last month while playing for the Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League but was permitted to keep bowling.

A report was filed to Cricket West Indies and the right-armer has since resumed working with English spin-bowling consultant Carl Crowe, a former first-class off-spinner who has helped the likes of Mohammad Hafeez and Jenny Gunn to remodel their actions.

Kolkata assistant coach Simon Katich, the former Australia Test batsman, told Indian media this week the franchise is optimistic Narine will be good to go for Sunday evening's (Monday 12.30am AEST) clash with Royal Challengers Bangalore.

"Obviously there were some issues recently in the PSL where he was playing for Lahore," Katich said.

"But he’s since gone back to Trinidad and spent a lot of time with Carl Crowe, working on his action.

"Carl’s his coach, last few years he’s been working with him since he first got reported.

"He’s done a lot of hard work there, we’re pretty confident with where he’s at with the action at the moment, so hopefully we’ll see him back out there on Sunday."

While Narine hasn't had his action cleared in official testing since the latest report, the Knight Riders are hopeful he's done enough remedial work to ensure he won't be reported again during the tournament.

Narine's unique action, which stems from his days playing soft ball cricket as a youngster in Trinidad, has been in focus multiple times during his career.

He was first cited for an illegal action during the Champions League in India in 2014 and has worked tirelessly on ensuring his arm doesn't exceed the 15-degree limit, with a focus on getting his body more side on at the crease.

Numerous reports have since followed – including a ban from bowling off-breaks during the 2015 IPL – but his unrivalled effectiveness in the shortest format has seen the West Indies as well as numerous domestic T20 sides (including the Sydney Sixers and Melbourne Renegades) show little hesitation in selecting him.

Narine sits third on the all-time leading T20 wicket-taking charts and holds a career economy rate of 5.86; no other bowler among the top 30 on that list has gone at less than six runs per over.

The left-handed batsman has also been deployed as a pinch-hitting opener in recent years and Katich hinted that he could resume that role in the for Kolkata this season.

"We felt that Sunny opening was going to give us an advantage with the balance of our team and also free him up to play a role at the top of the order, which he did a very, very good job of," Katich said of Narine opening in last year's IPL.

"He’s primarily one of our main spinners, if not our number one spinner, but given the balance of our team, you never know where he’s going to bat.

"It all depends on what we feel the best combination is."

That best combination is likely to feature recovering Australian Chris Lynn, who has been targeting the Knight Riders' IPL opener to make his comeback from the shoulder injury he suffered in February.

Kolkata could also name West Indian Andre Russell for Sunday's game after the allrounder recently returned following a one-year ban for a doping violation.