OTD | West Indies’ 2016 T20 World Cup hero Carlos Brathwaite was born in 1988

Today, Carlos Brathwaite turns 36 and his name will always be remembered in the history of cricket for giving the most iconic finish to an ICC final. All-round player Carlos Brathwaite of the West Indies smashed England’s Ben Stokes with four sixes in the ICC World Twenty20 2016 final, which catapulted him to stardom. He was considered to be the next great thing, particularly in white-ball cricket, at the time, and for good reason, but things didn’t work out for him. 

Even though Brathwaite was named captain of the West Indies T20I team, his career took a turn for the worse. Maybe he was carrying too much expectation on his shoulders. Brathwaite was allegedly pushed too high, too quickly. Brathwaite has gone from being a cult icon to being completely removed from the international scene. Back-to-back series losses and dipping form was surely the end of him and has paved the way for his decline in International cricket. 

Although Brathwaite is no longer playing for his national team, he has not announced his retirement so far. In the end, his power-hitting abilities proved to be ineffective. He made a spectacular innings against New Zealand in an ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 league match in England, but it was one of those infrequent knocks. 

When the West Indies were not able to secure a spot in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, Brathwaite was observed providing commentary. It appears that he has pursued a different profession for himself while he is not playing cricket. Despite this, the tall Barbados native continues to land contracts with T20 clubs across the globe. 

Brathwaite, who last played for the West Indies in 88 matches across all formats in 2019, has played for 19 clubs in international T20 Leagues. Brathwaite’s subpar performances in these competitions are a major factor in why he hasn’t been called up to the national team, which has struggled in both white-ball formats during recent years.