Khan pleased with Bravo, Pollard’s T20 recalls

Darren Bravo
Darren Bravo

OMAR KHAN, former national and West Indies cricket team manager, is pleased with the recalls of both Darren Bravo and Kieron Pollard for the WI T20 team to face hosts India in three matches, from November 4-11.

The WI selectors recently announced their respective 15-member squads to square off against India for three T20 Internationals, as well as five One Day Internationals, from Sunday until November 1.

Bravo has been out of the WI team since his controversial tweet criticising Cricket West Indies (CWI) president Dave Cameron in November 2016. But the left-handed batsman had an impressive 2018 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) season, tallying 349 runs in 13 matches for the victorious Trinbago Knight Riders outfit. “Darren Bravo is a special talent,” said Khan. “Everybody knows his batting ability in all forms of the game. I think Darren Bravo should be back for the West Indies in all forms.”

Khan, the current manager of CPL runners-up Guyana Amazon Warriors, continued, “Pollard, during the CPL, was very consistent. Everybody knows Pollard is a devastating player at the T20 level. He can be a match-winner at any point in time.”

Bravo’s elder brother Dwayne was not picked in either ODI or T20 team for the India series. Khan noted, “It’s all about the selectors judging the performances of the players, and what they want out of the players.” He continued, “Dwayne has been around for quite a while and everybody knows Dwayne is totally committed to West Indies cricket. He gives 150 per cent of his efforts, he is a world-class player. I would love to see him back on the team. His all-round ability adds a lot of value to any team.”

The ODI and T20 teams feature a number of new faces, to the international stage, including Khary Pierre, Oshane Thomas, Sherfane Rutherford, Chanderpaul Hemraj, Fabian Allen and Obed McCoy.

“At the end of the day, they’re looking at building a team for the 2019 ICC World Cup in England, with a look at the core group of players who can hopefully be available and be ready,” said Khan. “You’ll look at players who are very committed to the cause. It’s a good team, taking everything into consideration.” However, the Amazon Warriors manager noted, “My main concern is that I’d like to see someone like Sunil Narine in that team, because you’ll need to have a penetrative bowler who can take wickets and put pressure on batsmen.” He is hopeful that the uncapped WI players can only learn from their experiences in India.

“It’s good to see young players getting an opportunity to build on their performances and to have the opportunity to play international cricket,” Khan said. “It will only do well for their development.”

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