CHENNAI, India, CMC – All-rounder Dwayne Bravo has hinted at the return of seasoned Twenty20 campaigners Chris Gayle, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, and believes their presence will have a significant impact on the young West Indies side.
The 36-year-old Bravo on Friday confirmed he had ended his retirement and would be available for West Indies selection, and said once the highly-rated trio also were back in Windies colours, it would augur well for the unit. Left-hander Gayle made himself unavailable for the current tour while it is understood off-spinner Narine and all-rounder Russell are not yet fit enough.
“If Russell is back, myself, and Narine is back … we don’t know what the Universe Boss (Gayle) is doing but you never know,” Bravo was quoted as saying after announcing the end of his retirement.
“He can also be available. We will love to have him around as he’s a father figure for all of us and we respect him. Having a Chris Gayle in the team is always special, but it’s up to him to make his decision.
“But, like I said, we’re looking forward to put the squad together. Whenever we put an XI on the field, it will be an XI that people will come to watch.”
Bravo has not played for West Indies in 15 months while Gayle has not turned out in a T20 International in 10 months, following the England series in the Caribbean earlier this year.
Russell has been plagued by an injury which abruptly ended his World Cup campaign last June while Narine last played in August when India toured the Caribbean.
Bravo, a veteran of 450 T20s, said he expected the younger players to accelerate their development with the seasoned players alongside them.
“We just have to talk to them and allow them to make their mistakes and allow them to figure out their game,” Bravo pointed out.
“Give them the opportunity and let them know that they belong to the system. What used to be the problem in the past is if a player played two-three games and they didn’t perform, he gets dropped.
“In these format, you expect players to fail, especially when you’re a top-order player because your role and responsibility is to get the team off to a flier and that takes a lot of risks. You just have to give players opportunities and back them – whether they’re performing or not.”
West Indies are are preparing for the defence of their T20 World Cup title at the showpiece in Australia next October.
