Bravo to miss CPL start

RENALDO MATADEEN

TRINBAGO KNIGHT Riders (TKR) will be without their captain and leading wicket-taker when the 2019 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) bowls off on Wednesday at the Queen's Park Oval, St Clair. Already missing top batsman Colin Munro for the first three matches, the TKR might be without Dwayne Bravo for a similar period, after he sustained a fracture on his left hand recently.

Bravo confirmed he will require surgery for a finger injury on his non-bowling (left) hand in a live interview with The Selector App as he sat out the Twenty20 (T20) warm-up affair between his XI and a Kieron Pollard XI yesterday at the Oval.

"I got hit on my finger in practice and unfortunately, the bad news is it's broken. I have to do a surgery, maybe (today) or the day after (Tuesday). It's not good but these things happen," he revealed.

Anonymous sources within the TKR camp speaking to Newsday wouldn't confirm the duration of the layoff as they admitted Bravo got the knock in a freak accident, shielding himself after another batsman's shot in the nets came towards him. The source told Newsday it was incredibly "bad luck" but said fingers are crossed he'll be fit for the majority of the campaign. Previous rumours suggested he would be missing the first three matches of the campaign.

However, according to the franchise owner, Venky Mysore, there is an air of optimism in anticipation of the final medical update.

"Injuries are part and parcel of the game," Mysore said exclusively to Newsday.

"Let's see how it goes. It's a finger injury [picked up] during practice."

Mysore declined to out a time frame on Bravo's return but said, "We'll have to talk to the doctor and figure it out."

TKR are looking for a hat-trick of titles after copping the trophy in 2017 and 2018, not to mention the TT Red Steel took glory in 2015. Bravo, as criticised as he is for his death bowling, is the most successful skipper in the tournament's history with these three wins and fans will be hoping for a swift return to the team. Bravo is the highest wicket-taker in CPL history, with 97 wickets from 69 games.

In their home run this year, TKR will also face Jamaica Tallawahs on Friday at 8 pm and St Lucia Zouks on Sunday at noon. Last edition, TKR's opening stint at home saw the team go 1-2 with the Patriots beating them in front their home crowd, only for Bravo's squad to emerge victorious in their next four games on the road as part of a 6-1 run to top the table with 14 points (seven wins and three losses). Bravo's men would then lose the first eliminator against the Guyana Amazon Warriors, before toppling the Patriots in another eliminator which allowed them to face and beat Amazon Warriors in the final by eight wickets, as they chased 148 with ease.

In 2013, Bravo topped the team's bowling charts with ten scalps; in 2015 he topped the tournament charts by 12 wickets with 28 victims; in 2016 he also stood atop the tournament charts with 21; in 2017 he finished second on the CPL charts with 16; and last year he was TKR's second-best bowler and in the top ten list with 13 wickets.