Former West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo has officially come out of international retirement, making himself available for selection in the West Indies T20I side in the lead-up to their men's T20 World Cup defence in Australia next year. Bravo, however, confirmed that he didn't want to play any other format.
"I would like to announce my return to international T20s for West Indies," Bravo told ESPNcricinfo in Chennai. "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 had turned his focus to exclusively playing franchise cricket around the world after announcing his retirement. The 36-year-old allrounder's change of heart comes following drastic changes in the West Indies administration - Ricky Skerritt has replaced Dave Cameron as the board president, and former T20 World Cup-winning coach Phil Simmons is back at the helm of the national team. As part of the revamp, Kieron Pollard was appointed captain of both the limited-overs teams ahead of the trip to India.
Bravo said that he was impressed by the clarity of thought and transparency in selection from the new management.
"They understand and listen, they will have dialogues going back and forth, that's the difference," he 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."
More to follow…