Veteran West Indian star Sunil Narine became the 13th player and first-ever overseas star to complete 200 matches in the IPL. Narine achieved the feat during the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Gujarat Titans (GT) game on Saturday night at the famous Eden Gardens stadium.

The 37-year-old, who will turn a year older on 26th May, celebrated the landmark match with figures of 2/29 from his four overs.

Ex-Indian batter Ambati Rayudu hailed the spin legend as the best player the league has seen. Speaking to ESPN Cricinfo’s time-out program, the 39-year-old said, “Narine is a proper match-winner with the bat and ball. The league has seen many great players, but he is a standout, which makes Narine the Best player of all time the IPL has seen.”

Trinidadian was at his miserly best with the ball against GT, where he first dismissed Nishant Sindhu. The left-handed batter tried to loft the bowler, only to find Manish Pandey, who took the catch to send the batter back to the hut for one. The biggest wicket of the day was Shubman Gill, who was batting well. Sunil dismissed his former teammate, caught by Anukul Roy for 85, and was later named player of the match.

Former Indian coach credits the player for his longevity

Sanjay Bangar, the former Indian coach, was impressed with the long career the West Indian had managed in the league.

Speaking to ESPN Cricinfo, the 51-year-old said: “Lot of big names have played in this league since the start, but Narine’s longevity is a huge factor.”

“He (Narine) also had to overcome issues regarding to his action, early in his career. The bowler has somehow found a way to main his skills and put the batters under pressure and create doubts in their minds. There are few qualities that does make him a Bonafide legend in this league.” further added India’s former player and coach.

Wizard of Trinidad’s IPL journey so far

After dazzling in various T20 tournaments, Kolkata went all out for the spin prodigy who was taking the world by storm. In his first game against the Rajasthan Royalsthe spinner bowled four overs and went wicketless. Trinidad and Tobago’s sensation also helped KKR win the title thrice (2012,2014,2024).

Gautam Gambhir decided to send Narine as an opener both as a captain and, much later, as a mentor. This move paid rich dividends as the left-handed batter became a thorn in the opposition’s flesh in the powerplay overs and also scored an IPL ton in the 2024 season. After 200 games, Narine has picked 205 wickets as well as scoring 1820 runs with the bat.