Caribbean all-rounder Dwayne Bravo has reversed his international retirement by making himself available for selection in the shortest format (T20I).
Bravo, who last played international cricket in September 2016, had quit international cricket in October 2018. However, he continues to feature in T20 leagues around the globe and recently played for Maratha Arabians in the Abu Dhabi T10 League.
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In an exclusive interview with ESPNcricinfo, Bravo on Friday (December 13) confirmed that he will be fully committed to represent West Indies in T20 cricket.
"I would like to announce my return to international T20s for West Indies," he said. "Once selected I'll be fully committed to represent the region again in T20 cricket, which I think is exciting for West Indies cricket and fans, with the young talents around."
Bravo’s decision to return to T20I cricket has a lot to do with the drastic changes made in the West Indies team management. In the last few months, Ricky Skerritt replaced Dave Cameron as Cricket West Indies president, Phil Simmons returned as coach and Kieron Pollard appointed captain for the 50-over and 20-over sides.
"They understand and listen, they will have dialogues going back and forth, that's the difference," Bravo said. "And that's why it was so easy for me to make a decision to come back and represent West Indies again. I speak to the captain, coach, the president, director of cricket and chairman of selectors, and I've confirmed that I'll be available for T20I selection."
As one of the veterans in the national set-up alongside Pollard, Bravo said his role would be to guide and give confidence to the young players, who are trying to find their feet at the highest level.
"We [seniors] just have to talk to them [the youngsters] and allow them to make their mistakes and allow them to figure out their game," Bravo said. "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."
Commenting on captain Pollard, Bravo said: "Yeah, he [Pollard] is definitely one who loves to win. The guys respect him a lot because of what he has achieved in cricket. Him and Phil [Simmons] have a very good captain-and-coach relationship and they're going to lead the team in the direction where it should be. Just happy to do what I can to contribute to building something special.”
"I'm very close to everyone on this team and I know if I walk in, everyone will be happy. But for me, it's not about me going back to try to be the person. It's just me going back thankful for another opportunity to represent the team again and also help nurture these young talented players and give them my experience and knowledge. I will try to assist them in whatever way I can," he further remarked.
