The flamboyant Windies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket on Wednesday (October 24). He last represented the Windies in September 2016. In his career, he has played as many as 270 international games (40 Tests, 164 ODIs, 66 T20Is) between 2004 and 2016 and played a crucial role in each of their two World T20 triumphs in 2012 and 2016.

In his retirement note, Bravo said, “Today I want to conform to the cricket world that I have officially retired from international cricket in all formats of the game. After 14 years when I made my debut for the West Indies, I still remember that moment I received the maroon cap before walking onto the Lord’s Cricket Ground against England in July 2004. The enthusiasm and passion I felt then, I have kept with me throughout my career. However, I must accept that for me to preserve my longevity as a professional cricketer, I must do as others before have done, leave the international arena for the next generation of players.”

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Dwayne made his international debut for the Windies in April 2004 in the Georgetown ODI against England and dismissed the openers Marcus Trescothick and Andrew Strauss. Three months later, he was handed a Test debut at Lord’s in West Indies’ tour of England.

Bravo only featured in 40 Tests for West Indies and amassed three centuries played 40 Test matches for the Windies scoring three Test tons and taking 86 wickets at 39.83. But it became quickly apparent that he was best suited to the abridged formats of the game, where his lower-order hitting, athletic fielding, and expert death-bowling abilities made him an indispensable member of the team.

In 164 ODIs, Bravo scored 2,968 runs at an average of 25.36. He also picked up 199 wickets with a career-best of 6 for 43. In T20 cricket, in which he is very popular, he cracked 1142 runs at a strike-rate of 116.41 and took 52 wickets at an economy of 8.46.

Along with the evolution of various T20 league across the world, Bravo slowly began ostracizing himself from international duty and along with his fellow cricketer, Kieron Pollard declined a WICB contract in 2010 that required him to be available for all international commitments. He played the last of his 40 Tests in December of that year, eventually retiring from the longest format in 2015.

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Dwayne took over captaincy duties of the ODI side from Darren Sammy in 2013 and hence played a crucial role in Windies abruptly pulling off their India tour in 2014 following a payment structure dispute between WICB and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA). The ODI in Dharamsala on that tour was his last in the Maroons. 

Bravo molded himself into a pre-eminent T20 death bowler and his exploits for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL and other franchises enabled him to make intermittent appearances for Windies in the shortest format of the game. He helped Sammy’s side clinch the second World title in the format in April 2016, but his differences with the Windies cricket board forced him to redirect all his energies to the T20 leagues.

Talking about the same, the flamboyant all-rounder said, “I thank the countless persons who were instrumental to my success, particularly my family and QPCC where I developed my skills at an early age. I thank the many loyal fans who continue to support my journey and who recognize my efforts on and off the field. I am extremely fortunate to have a career that has taken me across the globe into the most prestigious dressing rooms sharing experiences with all the recent legends of this glorious game. I will continue my professional career as a cricketer and entertainer living as a true champion.”