Over the years, Caribbean cricket has produced
a number of match winners. In the Caribbean
bowling department, Dwayne Bravo is one of
the most talented seamers. The bowlers made a huge
contribution in the West Indies cricket. But he has bid
goodbye to the game and played his final match. Bravo
had earlier announced that he will hang up his boots
after this year’s 2024 Caribbean Premier League season.
The news of Bravo’s impending retirement was revealed
before the Trinbago Knight Riders’ first game of CPL
2024. On his social media handle, he shared the news
with the fans. He wrote, “It’s been a great journey and
I’m looking forward to playing my final professional
tournament in front of my Caribbean people. TKR is the
place where everything started for me and will end with
my team.”
Along with Bravo’s retirement, a glorious chapter of the
West Indies cricket has ended. Right after his debut for
the West Indies, he delivered several match-winning
performances. Dwayne Bravo is set to retire from
professional cricket after an impressive 23-year career.
Bravo retired from international cricket following the
2021 T20 World Cup but continued to play in franchise
leagues. Bravo had already stepped away from the
Indian Premier League before the 2023 season after
winning four titles with Chennai Super Kings.
In T20 cricket, Bravo is the all-time leading wicket-taker
with 630 wickets in 578 matches. He has also scored
6,970 runs in this format, showcasing his abilities as an
all-rounder. His impact on T20 cricket is unparalleled,
making him a key player in the format.
TEAMS PLAYED
West Indies, Dolphins, Essex, Kent, Surrey, West
Indies A, West Indies Academy, West Indies
Inv XI, Worcestershire, University of West Indies
Vice Chancellors XI, Chennai Super Kings,
Mumbai Indians, Middlesex, Victoria, T&T
Red Force, West Indies Under-19, Melbourne
Renegades, Melbourne Stars, Sydney Sixers,
Chattogram Challengers, Trinbago Knight
Riders, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, Minister
Group Dhaka, Comilla Victorians, Gujarat
Lions, Quetta Gladiators, Lahore Qalandars,
Peshawar Zalmi, Pretoria Mavericks, Maratha
Arabians, Winnipeg Hawks, Paarl Rocks, Bravo
XI, Delhi Bulls, Northern Superchargers, Fortune
Barishal.
Bravo has also made significant contributions in other
formats. He played 40 Test matches, scoring 2,200 runs at
an average of 31. Additionally, he featured in 100 firstclass
and 227 List-A games.
Bravo is a global icon and showcased his excellence
worldwide. He represented 27 teams across 11 countries
and won 17 T20 titles, including two T20 World Cups with
West Indies. Most recently, he was the bowling coach for
Afghanistan in the T20 World Cup.
Dwayne Bravo came across as a richly talented West
Indian all-rounder who played a handy role in fasttracking
West Indies back into international prominence.
He made his first-class debut for Trinidad and Tobago in
2001-02 and two years later, on the back of some strong
all-round performances, made his debut at home against
England. In his maiden Test, he showed promise with the
bat and also picked up 3 wickets though his side lost
heavily. In only his third Test, Bravo showed glimpses of
prodigious talent scoring 77 and scalping 6 wickets in the
first innings.
Early signs showed that Bravo was a better bowler than
batsman but he improved on his batting, opening the
innings for Trinidad and Tobago and is now a much more
accomplished batsman than what he started off as. After
being dropped for the 1st Test against Australia in 2005,
Bravo bounced back hard in the 2nd Test slamming a
brilliant 113, coming in at a precarious situation. It was
followed by a superb spell in the 3rd Test where he picked
up 6 wickets in the first innings. The next two years were
not as fruitful as injury, followed by a poor 2007 World
Cup, marred his progress.
In 2010, Bravo turned down a WICB central contract,
preferring to play several T20 Leagues around the globe.
He lost his place in the Test side but remained a regular
fixture in the T20Is. He was signed up by Mumbai in the
inaugural edition of the Indian T20 League and
performed exceedingly well. Later, Chennai
bought him in 2011 and he has been with them
ever since. Before the Champions Trophy in
2013, Bravo replaced Darren Sammy as the ODI
captain.
A middle-order batsman, Bravo with his stylish
cover drives and quick feet movement, exhibits
the true Caribbean flavour. He is also a brilliant
fielder and brings energy to the West Indian outfit
with his acrobatic fielding. A more than useful
death-overs bowler, Bravo has clever variations
up his sleeve and also has one of the best slower
balls in the business.
He was the player’s spokesperson when West
Indies refused to play their games during a tour
of India in 2014 due to issues with the board. Post
that, he faced injuries and was eventually left
out of the squad as Jason Holder was made the
skipper of the ODI team. Bravo then announced
his retirement in Tests in 2015. He went on to
participate for his country in ODIs and T20Is, even
winning the World T20 title in 2016. His injuries and
form caused his representation for the national
team reducing and eventually, he started playing
more in the T20 Leagues around the world.
Bravo bid the final goodbye to international
cricket when he announced his retirement on
25th October 2018. He remained an exciting and
internal part of the Chennai unit as well as the
other T20 franchises in the world. Bravo has been
one of the best advertisements of the sport, be
it due to his joyful nature, his funny antics or for
showing superb sportsman spirit. In 2019, Bravo
made a U-turn on his retirement and made
himself available for the shortest version of the
game.
source: ESPN Cricinfo