Dwayne Bravo, an all-rounder for the Trinidad and Tobago Knight Riders (TKR), has hung his boots on the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) bringing an unforeseen end to an illustrious career. The 40-year-old T20 teebreaker, whose preliminary plans indicated quitting after the 2024 CPL season, however, has been forced to draw the curtains on his CPL adventure following a nasty groin injury that he sustained while playing against the St Lucia Kings in Tarouba on Tuesday.
Bravo, who is due to clock 41 years next month, picked the injury after trying to catch St Lucia’s skipper Faf du Plessis during the span of the seventh over.
Almost immediately, Bravo was in palpable pain and had to walk off the field, and sadly bowled zero overs in the game that turned out to be his last CPL appearance. Touchingly, Bravo came out to bat at No. 11 despite TKR struggling to chase down an improbable target of 219, faced a depressed one ball before aggravating an injury and fighting back tears as he exited the ground, bringing a sad closure to what has been a fabulous CPL career.
During the post-match interview, TKR’s captain Kieron Pollard who has maintained a great friendship with Bravo over the years had nice things to say about him. “When he pulled up [injured], it looked pretty serious,” said Pollard.
“It wasn’t just about coming to bat at No.11 to win the game, but also seemed to be evaluating the worst of the situation. We do not know whether this is the end for him or not, but in the team context, let us simply say thanks for everything that he did for cricket, for Trinidad and Tobago and the rest of the world. He has been a charming man and says I have great respect to many,” he stated in conclusion.
Bravo, a five-time CPL champion, directly won three with TKR and most notably, guided the team to consecutive titles in the years 2017 and 2018. In the year 2021, he was the captain of St Kitts and Nevis Patriots who won their first CPL trophy of all time – another feat which adds to his tournament legacy. Voltage’s contribution was not limited to only the field as his captaining and enthusiasm for the sport resonated across many young West Indians cricketers.
Former South African captain, Faf du Plessis, who played alongside Bravo in the Chennai Super Kings and the Texas Super Kings, paid an emotional farewell to the all-rounder. “Sad to see DJ Bravo finish his CPL career in this way,” du Plessis recalled.
“Someone whom I have looked up to for many years. What a player, what a career, and what a better person. So much has been done by him for the Caribbean region and I really wanted to give him a proper send off,” he expressed. “However, he deserves a special mention because of all that he has given to this sport”.
