Dwayne Bravo, West Indies all-rounder, announces international retirement

Dwayne Bravo, West Indies’ charismatic all-rounder, has announced his retirement from international cricket. Dwayne, 35, last played an international game for the Windies against Pakistan in a Twenty20 game in October 2016.

“After 14 years when I made my debut for the West Indies, I still remember that moment I received the maroon cap before walking onto the Lords Cricket Ground against England in July 2004. The enthusiasm and passion I felt then, I have kept with me throughout my career. However, I must accept that for me to preserve my longevity as a professional cricketer, I must do as others before have done, leave the international arena for the next generation of players,” Bravo said as he announced his retirement in a statement.

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Ever since his debut in 2004, Bravo has played 40 Tests, 164 ODIs and 66 Twenty20 Internationals. Injuries restricted his number of Test appearances and he announced his retirement from Tests in 2015. However, he proved to be the star in Twenty20 franchise cricket all over the world, notably for Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League.

Bravo is the leading bowler in Twenty20 cricket, with 447 wickets in 410 innings. He, along with Kieron Pollard, are the only players to play over 400 Twenty20 games. However, his most defining moment came during West Indies’ tour to India in 2014 when under his captaincy, the team pulled out of the tour following the Dharamsala ODI after a lengthy payment structure dispute between the Board, Players Association and the players themselves. Later in 2015, he was caught in a bitter contract dispute with the West Indies Cricket Board and that resulted in his omission from the squad for the World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand.

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Off the field, Bravo is best remembered for the famous song “Champion, Champion” which was used as a rallying point in West Indies’ 2016 World T20 triumph in India. He also lent his voice to the song Yenda (Dalmeni Dalmeni) in the Tamil film Ula. The cricketer also made a special appearance in the film which released earlier in 2018. 

His magnificent contributions, enthusiasm and passion will be sorely missed on the international stage as West Indies continue to struggle.

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