Not many cricketers play with such jubilation as Dwayne Bravo does. Bravo, being a Trinidadian, always brings a wide smile to his face whenever he sets foot in the 22 yards. When Dwayne Bravo’s career was slowly diminishing, he was picked by the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2011 and the rest is history.
Nobody, including Chennai Super Kings (CSK), visualized the impact Bravo would go on to generate in the IPL. Today, Dwayne Bravo is the leading wicket-taker of the IPL with nobody conflicting with his record. After 183 scalps, 161 matches, and 516 overs, the West Indies legend has announced his retirement from the IPL.
The journey of Bravo, in some ways, has been the manifestation of CSK itself. The MS Dhoni-led franchise was left aground on a shore before the pyrotechnics of Bravo materialized. Recently, Dwayne Bravo was not retained by the CSK ahead of the IPL 2023 Auction owing to his growing age.
Kasi Viswanathan, Chennai Super Kings’ CEO, also justified the reason behind Bravo’s release by quoting, “Age was a big factor.” Nonetheless, the flamboyant all-rounder has decided to continue his association with CSK at a managerial level.
Bravo is Appointed as the Bowling Coach of CSK
Bravo, just like his comrade Kieron Pollard, has bid farewell to the IPL but has taken up coaching responsibilities for the Mumbai Indians team.
Prior to the 2023 season, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have recruited IPL stalwart Dwayne Bravo as their bowling coach. Moreover, Lakshmipathy Balaji will be replaced by Bravo since he has personal obligations that will prevent Balaji from working for a year.
In a statement released by Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Dwayne Bravo said, “I’m looking forward to this new journey because it’s something I see myself doing after my playing days is fully over. I enjoy working with bowlers and it’s a role I’m excited about.”
“From player to coach, I don’t think I have to adjust much because while I’m playing, I always work with bowlers and try to come up with plans and ideas on how to have that one step ahead of the batsmen. The only difference is I will no longer be standing at mid-on or mid-off,” the Caribbean all-rounder added.
Lastly, Kasi Viswanathan believes, the depth of Bravo’s expertise will be extremely beneficial to the youngsters and they have faith in him to lead the bowling team to success.
IPL Through the Lens of Dwayne Bravo
In his maiden season with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in 2011, Bravo only managed to claim 6 scalps in 6 innings with an economy of 7.85. However, little did the franchise know that was only the tranquillity before the chaos. In the next year, Dwayne Bravo adopted a wide range of deliveries and grabbed 15 wickets with an average of 30.8.
In the next two seasons (2013 & 2015), Dwayne Bravo was at the peak of his career as the right-arm-medium bowler picked up a total of 58 wickets in 34 matches. Bravo created headlines in IPL 2013 by being the first player to take 30 wickets in a single season and finishing with 32 victims, which is still a shared IPL record.
The following year, Bravo was picked by Gujarat Lions as CSK served a two-year ban before again being retained by Chennai Super Kings in 2018. In 2016, Bravo played a pivotal role in qualifying Gujarat Lions for the knockouts in their debut season.
The previous year, when Chennai Super Kings (CSK) was grinded down with adversity and nearly attained the wooden spoon, Dwayne Bravo collected 16 wickets in just 10 innings at an average of 18.7. As far as his batting is concerned, the right-handed batter has also accumulated 1,560 runs in 110 innings at a strike rate of 129.6, including a total of five half-centuries.
Although Dwayne Bravo had announced his departure from International Cricket and IPL; his career has not completely ceased. The two-time T20 World Cup is currently leading Delhi Bulls in the Abu Dhabi T10 League. Subsequently, Dwayne Bravo will also join forces with Kieron Pollard and play the debut season of the International League T20 for the MI Emirates.
