Dwayne Bravo ends cricket career

West Indies Dwayne Bravo celebrates taking the wicket of England’s Moeen Ali. Bravo also plays for the Trinbago Knight Riders.
REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

All-rounder Dwayne Bravo has officially called it quits on his career. This comes after an injury, which took him out of last Tuesday’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL) match between Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) and the St. Lucia Kings at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy (BLCA) in Trinidad.

Forty-year-old Bravo had to undergo an MRI Scan, following which he took to social media to reveal his decision to end his career.

Bravo had planned to retire at the end of the CPL Tournament this year, but TKR captain Kieron Pollard, at a press conference said the “Master” had other plans.

“As far as Dwayne is concerned, I saw in his Instagram page about 15 to 20 minutes ago that he called time on his playing career, so that’s it for Dwayne Bravo in terms of cricket,” Captain Pollard said.

“He has given cricket a lot, and for us in the camp, it’s heart-breaking because we know how hard he worked in order to finish this tournament and to be with us, but unfortunately the master always has different plans. For him it’s heart-wrenching, but as the champion will always say he has given it his all, and for us as teammates and friends, we will all try to do as much as possible to make him smile at the end of it. So from all of us, thank you, Dwayne,” Pollard said.

Bravo’s injury was one of just a few suffered by TKR which Pollard said because of these injuries they’ve had to make changes which may have affected their performance.

West Indies' Kieron Pollard in action against England at the Dubai International Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Oct. 23, 2021.
West Indies’ Kieron Pollard in action against England at the Dubai International Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Oct. 23, 2021. REUTERS/Satish Kumar/File

Pollard is calling on local players to take note of themselves as there is a need for replacements for Bravo and the other players.

He added, “So far Shakir Parris and Nathan Edwards, they have shown us what they can do. And hopefully, in the future, we can have more of those talents coming through because we need the next batches of the Sunil Narine and Dwayne Bravos, Pollards, the Denesh Ramdins from Trinidad as well.”

Bravo’s career: Dwayne John Bravo is a former captain of the West Indies Cricket team and the current bowling coach of Chennai Super Kings and the Afghanistan national men’s team.

He is the highest wicket-taker in T20 cricket history. In his distinguished 18-year career in T20 cricket, Bravo won several titles in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Pakistan Super League (PSL), and Big Bash League (BBL).

He also played for Trinbago Knight Riders in the CPL and for the Texas Super Kings in the Major League Cricket. A right-arm seam bowling all-rounder, Bravo is well known for his aggressive lower-order batting and his bowling in the final overs of a match. He was regarded as one of the best death bowlers in T20 Cricket.

Between 2004 and 2021, Bravo played 40 Test matches, 164 One-Day Internationals and 91 T20 Internationals for the West Indies. He was a key member of the West Indies team. He also performs as a singer.

After initially announcing his retirement from international cricket in October 2018, Bravo came out of retirement in December 2019 in preparation for the 2020 T20 World Cup.

Bravo retires as the most decorated player in CPL history, with five titles to his name, including three with TKR.

Bravo ends his career with 631 wickets from 582 T20 appearances, second only to fellow West Indian Pollard.