Legendary West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo is celebrating his 40th birthday today. A talented cricketer with both bat and ball from Trinidad, Bravo was also an astonishing fielder. His versatility in bowling and excellence in the death overs set him apart from the rest and make him invaluable to his team. One of the true entertainers of the game, Bravo was instrumental in continuing the Windies’ legacy.
Bravo made his international debut in Test cricket against England in 2004. His illustrious career spanned from 2004 to 2021, representing the Caribbean side in all three formats. He played 40 Tests, 164 ODIs and 91 Tests, scoring 2200, 2968 and 1255 runs respectively. The right-arm seamer has taken 86 wickets in Tests, 199 wickets in ODIs and 78 wickets in T20Is.
The white-ball legend has represented West Indies in seven T20 World Cups and played a key role in their success in the 2012 and 2016 editions. At the age of 24, he became the first West Indies player to captain both the Test and ODI teams. Later in 2013, he was appointed as the permanent captain of the national team. However, a controversial incident prior to the 2015 World Cup involving the West Indies Cricket Board in a payment dispute led to his removal from the captaincy and his dismissal from the team.
Dwayne Bravo – A Revolution in T20 Cricket
Bravo has been a beast in T20 cricket, having played in numerous leagues around the world. However, that mode was unleashed when he started his Indian Premier League (IPL) stint. He had a moderate time with Mumbai Indians (MI) in the starting three seasons. But shifting to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in 2011 did the trick for him. He went on to become a legend of CSK under the leadership of MS Dhoni.
Bravo was the highest wicket-taker in IPL history (183 wickets from 161 matches) before being overtaken by Rajasthan Royals’ Yuzvendra Chahal in the 2023 edition. The veteran all-rounder, however, announced his retirement from the cash-rich league in 2022. But he remained the bowling coach of the Chennai-based franchise in the 2023 season, in which they won their fifth coveted title. He is expected to be seen in yellow next season as well.