Recently retired West Indies all-rounder, Dwayne Bravo, says West Indies cricket is loaded with talented youngsters but they will need guidance and the freedom to be themselves.
Bravo made those comments at the post-match press conference following the West Indies defeat in their final match on the group stage of the T20 World Cup to Australia.
When asked about those potentially suited to fill his shoes, Bravo said, “I don’t think we are lacking in that department. If you look at the recent CPL [Caribbean Premier League], there are some good talents coming through and I am very excited about that. Guys like Dominic Drakes, Odean Smith, Romario Shepherd, these are good quality all-rounders, those are names to look out for as well.”
He added, “Nyeem Young is another young player to look out for as well so we are not lacking talent that is one thing for sure, especially in this format.”
Smith and Shepherd each ended this year’s CPL with 18 wickets while Drakes was the next best with 16 wickets. Young ended with eight.
Shepherd also boasted a strike rate of 165 while Drakes (161) and Smith (132) were also considerably impressive.
“They are young players but with experience I think they have the ability and it is just a matter of letting them be themselves and creating their own legacy and their own greatness and with guidance from myself, Polly [Kieron Pollard], Chris [Gayle], the senior players just to make sure we keep the young players hungry and learning and pass on our information,” he said.
Bravo’s career spanned over 17 years since he made his debut international debut against England at Bourda in a 50-over match. His T20I career of 15 years, 263 days is also the joint longest with Gayle.
Bravos career saw him playing 40 Tests, 164 ODIs and 91 T20I and he ended with over 6000 runs under his belt including three Test centuries and two One-Day tons.
His medium pace bowling made him one of the more useful bowlers towards the back end of an innings and he captured 363 International wickets, 199 of which came in the 50-over format.
Bravo is among five West Indians to complete the combination of 1000 runs and 100 wickets.
