CHENNAI: Out of national of reckoning for a while now, West Indies allrounder Dwayne Bravo is hoping to get a chance to play for his country at next year’s World Cup after the two-time champions qualified for the 50 over quadrennial event to be held in England.
The West Indies snatched a spot at next year’s World Cup by notching up a five-run victory over Scotland via DLS method in Harare yesterday.
Bravo, who has been out of the ODI side since the tour of India in 2014 and last played for West Indies in September, 2016 at Abu Dhabi, congratulated the young team for making it to the World Cup.
“First of all, congrats to the team for qualifying. I am happy for the guys. World Cup without the West Indies… I mean there is FIFA World Cup without Italy. These things are possible. No one team or one country are guaranteed anything,” he told reporters at a promotional event here.
“It is a young team. The cricketing world loves to see West Indies and love to see West Indies competing with the best. I wish them all the best. Hopefully, I would get to play in the World Cup as well,” added the 34-year-old former skipper.
Bravo along with a few others have been at loggerheads with West Indies board over pay. Recently Cricket West Indies (CWI) chairman Courtney Brown had said that Bravo had “indicated that he is no longer available to play cricket for the West Indies”, a claim denied by the allrounder.
Bravo, who plays twenty20 cricket in Big Bash League, Pakistan Super League and Caribbean Premier League (CPL), will return to the Chennai Super Kings in IPL and said it was like coming back home for him.
“Coming back to CSK is like coming back home for me. We missed the IPL for the last two years. I was following the auction from Australia and I was hoping and praying that I would be picked by CSK. I’m very thankful to the management for showing a lot of faith in me,” Bravo said.
“I enjoyed a good period of rest after playing in the Big Bash just to keep myself physically and mentally prepared to give my best to CSK. I enjoy my time in Chennai,” he added.
Heaping praise on CSK captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Bravo said, “It is led by the best captain in the world. For me personally, CSK has done a lot and I would want to entertain the Yellow Army.
“I’m not under any pressure. This is the most experienced squad that we have. We have guys like Shane Watson, Jadeja and (MS) Dhoni. As ‘captain cool’ Dhoni keeps saying, pressure is something we have to embrace. I’m excited to work with the local young talent, especially the fast bowlers. I’m happy to be a part of very talented and also an experienced group.
Asked why West Indies cricketers do well in T20 leagues across the world, Bravo said the West Indies players fancy themselves in the shortest format.
“West Indian players fancy ourselves in the shortest format of the game. We play the game with the right spirit, attitude and flamboyance. We are natural entertainers and enjoy playing in these competitions. It is not just about playing tournaments but winning them as well.” (AGENCIES)
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