How Dwayne Bravo became the world’s best T20 bowler
Hailed as one of the most celebrated cricketers in the modern era, West Indies great Dwayne Bravo is an indispensable name in the T20 format. Bravo is a free-wheeling T20 player who has established himself as a street-smart all-rounder.
Though Bravo has been quite underrated as a batsman, his heroics with the ball can’t be overlooked by many in the cricket world in recent times. He can bowl as a conventional seam bowler but it is his deadly, dipping slower ball that has made him the most sought-after T20 specialist.
Started as a batting all-rounder
Born on October 7, 1983, in Trinidad, Bravo aspired to follow the footsteps of the cricket legend Brian Lara and make it big in the international circuit. He was finally put in the international spotlight when he made his ODI and Test debut in 2004. Back in the day, he was recognized as a batting all-rounder who could bowl skillful seam-up. The veteran has decent records in red-ball cricket but it was the T20 format that established him as a brand in cricket.
Bravo made his T20 debut in 2006 against New Zealand and has been unstoppable since then. Injuries and differences with the West Indies cricket board prompted him to maintain distance from red-ball cricket and reinvent himself as a bowling all-rounder in T20 cricket. As opposed to the orthodox seam bowling, Bravo invented the formula of bowling a slower dipper, a slower off-cutter and a slower bouncer in modern-day T20 cricket.
Milestone Man
Recently, the Trinidad-born achieved a remarkable feat of registering 500 wickets in the shortest format of the game. Bravo achieved the feat of 500th wicket in his 459th T20 match. The pacer has taken his wickets at an average of 24.62 and an economy rate of 8.25. Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga is the second-highest wicket-taker in T20 cricket as he has 389 scalps to his name from 339 matches. Sunil Narine (383), Imran Tahir (374), and Sohail Tanvir (356) are the others with most wickets in T20s.
A serial winner
Bravo has been a serial topper across leagues when it comes to the wickets charts and by extension, is a serial winner in T20 cricket. In his T20 career, Bravo has represented West Indies, Chennai Super Kings, Chittagong Kings, Comilla Victorians, Dhaka Dynamites, Dolphins, Essex, Gujarat Lions, Kent, Lahore Qalandars, Melbourne Renegades, Melbourne Stars, Middlesex, Mumbai Indians, Paarl Rocks, Quetta Gladiators, Surrey, Sydney Sixers, Trinbago Knight Riders, Trinidad & Tobago, Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel, and Victoria… that’s a long list!
Bravo’s game-changing ability has ensured that despite being a 37-year old, he is still relishing his favourite format. In the 2013 IPL season, Bravo bagged 32 wickets in 18 matches at an economy rate of 7.95. Only Alfonso Thomas (33 in the 2010 Friends Provident Trophy) has collected more wickets in a T20 league season anywhere.
While most of Bravo’s stardom comes from his exploits in the franchise leagues, his international performances have been quite valuable. This can be deduced from his inclusion in the West Indies T20 squad ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup.
