Dwayne Bravo says he felt like a kid who has just been informed of a party somewhere when the selectors told him of his comeback in the West Indies T20I team for the three-match series versus Ireland, starting Wednesday (January 15) in Grenada.
Bravo only recently made a retirement u-turn, a result of great efforts made by the new CWI regime in welcoming the region's best players back into the fold, and would now hope to fill in any hole that may exist in the team leading upto the T20 World Cup in Australia this October.
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"It's a great feeling," ESPNcricinfo quoted Bravo as saying. "I feel like a kid again when I first get a call Mr Harper that welcome back to the team and play international cricket and they were looking forward to have me back."
"It is something that was always on my mind since the change of leadership and stuff. So just happy I get the opportunity to represent the region again and I am looking forward to doing my best."
However, Bravo might not immediately be able to re-bridge the gap from domestic T20 to the highest level having not played an international match since September 2016. "Yeah, (playing) a lot of cricket is important, but for me because of the experience I've gained over the years, I am more concerned about my fitness," he said. "Obviously, I had this broken finger, (which) kept getting stronger. I started practising, played a couple of games for Queen's Park (his local club in Trinidad), but over the years, despite not playing not much cricket, I am still able to go there and compete and contribute in a very good way."
"For example in the last T10 league, I hadn't played any cricket in about four months prior to that and still was able to go there and deliver and also win the title," Bravo added. "It is just a happy time for me. Since I announced my return in December, my mind and my motivation was on this series and now that I'm selected I am very happy."
"I'm a better bowler, I'm a better all-round cricketer. Obviously, I'm older, so I will not be as quick I used to be before, but I am also very smarter and have a bigger knowledge on the game."
While batting remains strong for the West Indies, bowling is a major concern, especially at the death. And so Bravo, it goes without saying, will be the one whom skipper Kieron Pollard looks at when in need from now on. Even selector Harper said he has been brought back with "specific" intention to resolve the death-bowling issue.
"Death bowling is an art," Bravo acknowledged. "Not many people around the world have really nailed death bowling to the T. If you ask anyone in world cricket to name five death bowlers in the last decade, definitely my name will come along with Lasith Malinga, Jasprit Bumrah, Mitchell Starc."
"It is not an easy time of the game, that's why it is called death. A special skill is required to bowl in those situations. Most times, if you have the ball in the death overs, and you don't win the game, everyone turn to you, and say, "okay, it is because of the last over". But you don't win or lose a game in the last over."
"So many times, I win a game in the last over and no one says anything. I have defended 6 runs in 6 balls. I have defended 11 runs in 6 balls. I don't have to prove anything to anyone. My stats over the years are there for everyone to see. Like I said, if you were to name three or five death-over specialists my name will be there."
(Inputs from ESPNcricinfo)
