Don’t think I have ever batted at No.9 in T20I cricket, reveals Dwayne Bravo
2020 West Indies squad better than 2016 squad
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Dwayne Bravo has said that he is batting at No.9 for the first time in his career in the current West Indian setup. Bravo also revealed that the current West Indian team, led by Kieron Pollard, is miles ahead of the 2016 team led by the all-rounder Darren Sammy, thanks to their batting prowess.
The West Indian all-rounder came out of retirement in 2020 when he was picked in the squad for the three-match T20I series against Ireland. Since his return to international cricket, Bravo has been made to bat at No.9 for the national team, where he scored nine runs. The 36-year-old recalled that he has never batted at No.9 in T20 cricket, be it with a franchise or with the national team.
"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. 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," Bravo told ESPNcricinfo.
Bravo, incidentally was also last part of the 2016 West Indian squad which defeated England in the finals of the T20 World Cup in India. However, since then, he has been frozen out of the squad following a dispute with the members of the West Indian cricketing board. The all-rounder admitted that the current Windies team is miles ahead of the 2016-winning team, thanks to their batting prowess.
"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."
"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," said Bravo concluded.
