West Indies limited overs captain, Kieron Pollard, has hailed Dwayne Bravo for being a mentor and role model for budding young all-rounders in the Caribbean.
Bravo has now retired, bowing out of the international arena following the West Indies’ dismal T20 World Cup campaign but has left an impression in many who he would have played with throughout his 17-year career.
“Thank you for being a great mentor and role model for us budding all-rounders coming through the Caribbean and I am sure there are a lot of youngsters in the Caribbean that would want to tap into that brain and knowledge you would have accumulated over these past 18 years,” the West Indies captain said.
“What Bravo has done for West Indies Cricket and budding all-rounders in the Caribbean when he started, you know, is paramount. He spoke about the discipline that was instilled in him and he was able to bring that sort of discipline, enthusiasm and commitment to each and every team that he represented,” he continued.
Pollard reckoned that players were “fortunate” to have someone like Bravo around for so long, owing to his charismatic nature and flamboyant brand of cricket.
“My first interaction with him would have been at Queen’s Park [Cricket Club] and Trinidad and Tobago cricket but watching him, because I am younger than him, the way that he celebrated his wickets, the flare that he batted with, those are the things I remember the most and getting the opportunity to share a friendship with him, I think that has exceeded everything I thought about…I know he has a long sort of passion to give back to West Indies cricket,” Pollard said. Only recently, a decade old story emerged which revealed it was Bravo who had recommended Pollard as part of the Mumbai Indians set up for the Indian Premier League back in 2010 when he became the joint biggest buy that year.
