Dwayne Bravo reckons West Indies currently boasts of a T20I team which is better than its 2016 World Cup-winning one, especially in terms of the batting depth. Bravo, the most experienced member of the side led by Kieron Pollard at the moment, cited an example from the tour of Sri Lanka in March to stress his point.
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"In the last series in Sri Lanka, we had a team meeting, and coach Phil (Simmons) put the team down, the list, and he put it down in batting order, and he had my name down at No. 9," Bravo told ESPNcricinfo. "And I said to the guys, I said listen, I don't think I was ever involved in a T20 team when I am down to bat at No. 9."
"I'm just in awe of our batting line-up, and I said to the guys, I said listen, I think this team is actually better than our World-Cup-winning team, and that is no joke because, at the end of the day, you have batting all the way down to No. 10."
Bravo, having been part of the team that achieved the World Cup glory in India in 2016, was mighty impressed by the side he joined after coming out of retirement in December last year.
"It's an intimidating team, it's a team to intimidate the opposition, and that excites me. So I will just do my part as a bowler, try to control the back end of the innings, especially closing off the innings with death bowling, which has been, in the past, a bit of a concern for us," he said.
"You saw how Oshane Thomas did with his pace in Sri Lanka. Then you have Sheldon Cottrell, now a leader of the attack, Kesrick Williams on the bench, so things starting to look bright again, things starting to look good again."
Bravo also showered praise on skipper Pollard and head coach Phil Simmons, who have brought the kind of communication, consistency that the young team was lacking before they came together last year.
"He loves to win (Pollard). That's the most important thing, and as a captain, he'll do anything to win, in the right way and the right spirit, and he's very determined to win, to make a difference," he said.
"I remember when they approached him to take over, I said to him, it's going to be a good challenge, a big one, a tough one, but now is the best time. You get both teams at the bottom of the table. There's only one way you can go, which is up, right?"
"I said now is the right time, you build a team and you create a dressing-room environment where everyone is on the same page," Bravo added.
The 36-year-old said Pollard commands a great level of respect amid the change room.
"I think what Pollard has is his honesty, which is the most important thing. You have leaders in the past sometimes that said, okay, well, I don't get involved in selection, I had no say, you know, they give all types of excuses and stuff, and the system will be able to manoeuvre them and control them, but Pollard, you can't control him."
"The players also respect him, because of whatever he has done and achieved in the white-ball format, especially in T20 cricket," said Bravo. "So if someone like Pollard is speaking in the dressing room about T20 cricket, we all have to listen, because he's played the most games, he's had success, and he's highly respected around the world."
"And that relationship we have with Phil Simmons as well, it's another good thing. Captain, coach - always have to have a good relationship."
(Inputs from ESPNcricinfo)
