The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season has been a great entertainment spectacle for the fans, especially because the batters are running riot all over the country. It can also be considered a season of renaissance for the veteran cricketers as they are enjoying the best of the Impact Player rule.
Many of the experienced cricketers across all the IPL teams have taken the opportunity to be a part of the game as an impact player in the 2023 edition of the tournament. It’s because this new rule allows the bowlers to take the field for a certain amount of time when they are needed to deliver a few overs, while the batters, can nurse their niggles without ever taking the field in the bowling innings, as shown by the RCB captain Faf Du Plessis.
But still, the quality of performances dictates how long a veteran cricketer might get chances to play in the IPL. There are a few players who are not performing well for their teams in the current season and they are not getting any younger either. With that thought in mind, SportsTiger looks at 5 players who might be playing their last IPL in the 2023 season.
Sunil Narine
The 35-year-old West Indies cricketer from Trinidad, Sunil Narine has been an institution in Kolkata Knight Riders since his IPL debut in 2012. He has won two IPL trophies for the franchise in his illustrious career while taking 159 wickets in 159 matches and scoring 1039 runs for KKR as of this writing.
In the 2023 season, Narine has only picked up 7 wickets in 11 matches with a very high economy of 8.61 thus far for Kolkata. These stats are unheard of for a star performer like him, who has been struggling with his bowling action in recent years as well. If the lack of performances with the ball coupled with constant issues in the bowling action continues for Sunil Narine in the recent edition of the IPL and beyond, then there might be a chance that we won’t be seeing him play in the league for KKR or any other side ever again.