Windies 'great' Bravo appointed Afghanistan bowling consultant

FORMER West Indies captain and two-time International Cricket Council (ICC) men's Twenty/20 World Cup winner Dwayne Bravo was announced as Afghanistan's bowling consultant for the June 1-29 T20 World Cup on May 21.

The 40-year-old Bravo played 91 T20 matches for the West Indies, with his last match coming at the 2021 T20 World Cup in a group stage match against eventual champions Australia. Bravo, regarded as one the finest allrounders of his generation, and one of the pioneers of the T20 game during his heyday, played 295 matches in total for the West Indies. Bravo took 363 international wickets across all formats, with 78 of those coming in the T20 format.

"The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) announces the appointment of former West Indian great and T20 World Cup winner Dwayne Bravo as the bowling consultant of the Afghanistan national team for the T20 World Cup 2024," a release from the ACB said.

"Bravo is set to join the team during the preparation camp ahead of the marquee event in the Caribbean."

Bravo is the leading wicket-taker in the history of T20 cricket, accumulating 625 wickets in a 19-year span with his wily medium-pace and crafty slower balls. Bravo currently serves as the bowling coach for his former Indian Premier League (IPL) team Chennai Super Kings.

Superstar Afghanistan leg-spinner and skipper, Rashid Khan, is second to Bravo on the all-time T20 wicket-takers list with 574 scalps, while Bravo's former West Indies teammate Sunil Narine is third on the list with 550 wickets.

Bravo helped the Windies to their T20 World Cup final wins against Sri Lanka and England in 2012 and 2016 respectively, and he finished with figures of three for 37 in the latter final as the Caribbean team pulled off an improbable win at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

"Bravo's brand of cricket and entertainment has earned him admiration and respect across the world, winning several titles including T20 World Cup, Champions Trophy, IPL, and CPL," the release said.

In just over a week's time, though, Bravo's allegiance and wealth of expertise will be shifted from the men in maroon to Afghan blue.

Afghanistan have been placed in group C alongside New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Uganda and the co-hosts West Indies for the World Cup, and their campaign will begin against the newcomers Uganda in Guyana on June 3. On June 17 in St Lucia, Afghanistan will tackle the Windies in an intriguing contest in the final match of the group phase.

The Afghans have already arrived in St Kitts and Nevis for a ten-day long training camp in the buildup to the World Cup. Afghanistan will play two official warm-up matches at the Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad against Oman and Scotland on May 29 and 31 respectively.