Sunil Narine returns to Surrey for T20 Blast campaign

Sunil Narine, the West Indian T20 allrounder, will be returning to Surrey for the 2023 Vitality Blast campaign.

Narine, who claimed 14 wickets at an economy rate of 5.96 in last year's competition, will be available for all Surrey fixtures that don't clash with his commitments to the Knight Riders franchise.

With this year's Blast running from May 20 to July 15, this may entail an overlap with the IPL knock-outs should KKR qualify, but not the Caribbean Premier League, which is scheduled for the back-end of the summer.

In addition to his wickets, Narine also contributed 199 runs with a strike-rate of 163.11 to Surrey's 2022 campaign. His top score was a free-flowing innings of 52 from 23 balls against Hampshire at The Oval in June.

"I am thrilled to return to The Kia Oval to play for Surrey in the Vitality Blast again," Narine said. "Getting knocked out in the quarter-final last year was a real disappointment with the team we had. I know we can do better this year and will do what I can to help get us to Finals Day.

"Between Surrey and the Oval Invincibles, The Kia Oval is genuinely a second home for me in the English summer."

Director of Cricket Alec Stewart said: "We saw what Sunil was all about in 2022, so I'm delighted to be bringing a player of his calibre back to Surrey.

"He is a world-class cricketer, capable of producing magic with both the bat and ball. I know Members and supporters will be excited by the prospect of his return.

"He, along with the rest of us, was disappointed last year when we didn't quite make it to Finals day, so I'm sure he'll be coming back in 2023 with a real hunger to put that right."

Narine is the second overseas signing in as many weeks for Surrey, with the Australian fast bowler Sean Abbott also returning across formats from April to July.