Dwayne Bravo says he along with other West Indies cricketers, were not considered for the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup in England despite Cricket West Indies (CWI) president Ricky Skerritt saying that he will open the door to players who were blacklisted during the Dave Cameron reign.
In an exclusive interview with Hema Ramkissoon, the host of the Morning Brew on CNC3 television yesterday, Bravo also revealed that retired T&T cricketer, Kevon Cooper, will be part of the coaching staff of the Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) franchise for the 2019 edition of the tournament which bowls -off on September 4.
The former West Indies captain spoke at length on a wide range of issues facing the regional game as he launched his new song - Love you baby.
<Waiting on World Cup call>
In an April interview with cricket website, Cricbuzz, Skerritt said, “No administrative issues, politics or petty emotional situations must prohibit or prevent players from being considered for selection.”
As the region looked towards the return of the likes of Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine, the TKR skipper also waited for word. He said, “With this new president when he took over, he said he opened the doors to everybody. I had officially announced my retirement from international cricket but made myself available and was not selected along with other players, who we all thought should have got the opportunity to represent the region in the World Cup.”
The regional side would go on to finish second to last on the 10-team table with just two games against Pakistan and Afghanistan. Bravo says there is a lack of leadership at every level of the regional game. “In West Indies cricket, a lot of people are afraid of making brave decisions,” he said, “The team needs stronger leaders, not only at a captain level but from administrators level, from a senior players level, they just need to be stronger as individuals,” Bravo added.
<Pollard for captain>
As the pressure builds on the West Indies in the shorter versions of the game, all-rounder pitched that Pollard should be given a chance to lead the team in the white-ball formats. This year, out of 22 One Day International (ODI) matches, the Windies lost 13 games while the defending World T20 champions lost all six of its matches this year in the shortest form of the game.
Pollard hasn’t played an ODI since October 2016 while he did feature in the three-match T20I series against India this month. Bravo said, “I will back Kieron Pollard to be a white ball captain for West Indies… He is a very good leader and he leads from the front.”
<Cooper signs as a TKR coach>
A day after TKR announced that its former star batsman Brendan McCullum was replacing Simon Katich as coach of the franchise, Bravo also revealed that now-retired all-rounder Kevon Cooper will also be joining the management staff as one of the coaches. Cooper announced his retirement from playing after he wasn’t selected in this year’s draft. Speaking to Guardian Media Sports yesterday, he said, “I’m grateful for the opportunity… It’s something new to me and I’m very excited to work alongside the guys who I have played with and against. Passing on my knowledge to people like Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard will be something weird for me but they are there to help me and guide me through this new chapter.”
Cooper won three titles in his six seasons with the TKR franchise and says he looks forward to working under the former New Zealand captain.
The 2019 CPL bowls off at 7 pm on September 4 at the Queen’s Park Oval when the defending champions take on St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in the opening match of the five-week tournament.