Dwayne Bravo and the West Indies - an absolute blockbuster

Imagine being in a situation where you are confronted with a novel problem – a problem that refuses to go away and keeps finding new ways to confuse you. You try to overcome it at first but in vain. You try again, this time hoping that a bit of knowledge will get you over the line. You fail.

Then, one day, with the use of technology, you finally stumble upon a formula – a formula that seems set to help you out for the foreseeable future. You use it for the first time and it bears immediate fruit. You try it again and the results are similar.

But after a couple of attempts, you find that you aren’t really solving that issue. Instead, that quandary has begun messing with your plans. Almost immediately, you try to understand what has gone wrong in your modus operandi. Or more specifically, the deviations that have made your solution untenable.

As time passes, you understand that your answer wasn’t wrong. You try to tell yourself that you’ll find a better method. Deep inside, though, you keep ticking. Not because it has the potential to undermine everything you do elsewhere. But because this problem keeps rearing up – incarnated just like the previous one (with very minimal changes) and keeps countering whatever alternative you have in mind.

In cricketing terminologies, this is exactly what batters have been trying to figure out when facing Dwayne Bravo in T20 cricket. Bravo, for the uninitiated, will no longer play international cricket and will no longer cause furrowed brows in the opposition camp.

Yet, despite an underwhelming T20 World Cup campaign, there is more than enough that people will remember about him – both as a cricketer and as a leader. Or, in other words, a legacy that only a few cricketers can even dream of replicating.

Dwayne Bravo has been excellent at the death over the years

Over the years, T20 batting has evolved considerably. Towards the end of the 2000s, the big hits down the ground became the vogue. MS Dhoni, in particular, was the pioneer for that sort of batting. At the turn of the decade, the more innovative batters had more of a say.

The likes of AB de Villiers, Jos Buttler and Glenn Maxwell became the archetypal 360-degree batters and almost became the kind of batters everyone wanted to emulate. Throughout those tweaks, though, Bravo barely flinched. And that is perhaps emblematic of his greatness.

Often termed a fast bowler who only relied on slower balls, Bravo did everything to ensure that the batter was kept guessing. Remember, most batters almost always knew that he would bowl slower deliveries.

Yet, they didn’t really know when to expect it. It seems paradoxical at first. However, it is more indicative of the kind of tactical astuteness Bravo possessed and how he remained a step ahead of the batters in pressure situations.

To place things into further context, batters also tried to muddle Bravo’s thinking by trying different philosophies. Some batted deep in their crease, some batted way outside it. Some gave themselves acres of width, some shuffled over and hacked into the leg side.

Most, though, couldn’t get on top of Bravo. And, to compound their woes, they had to watch Bravo celebrating each wicket as it were his first – all with infectious enthusiasm.

Bravo contributed decently with the bat throughout his career

Apart from his bowling exploits, Bravo also fared decently with the bat. He wasn’t someone who set the world alight like Andre Russell and Kieron Pollard are capable of. But he was someone who stood up when his team required him most. Remember the Super 8 clash against Australia in 2014? Daren Sammy wheeled away in celebration but Bravo was just as vital to that victory.

If pure numbers are considered, his tally of runs in games isn’t very inspiring. Yet, Bravo has almost always been a part of the West Indies’ most memorable moments – not by scoring a truckload of runs but by giving the Caribbean outfit just what they needed.

Additionally, Bravo was a fierce leader. Though that didn’t end favourably, especially considering how he was stripped of captaincy, his tenure highlighted that he had the gumption for a fight – both against the opposition and against an extraordinarily unsupportive system.

Or, in cruder words, he had the spine to stand up to what he felt was wrong and had the courage to stand up for things that he truly believed in. He once brought his entire team to the toss (against India) to express his and his teammates’ displeasure at the West Indies Cricket Board, for goodness’ sake.

As the curtain draws on his career, it would’ve been very easy to paint the numbers Bravo has accumulated. But in essence, his career has been a lot more than just stats.

Bravo has often been the beacon of inspiration the West Indies have turned to when in strife. Bravo has also been the brains behind a large chunk of their brand of cricket – a brand of T20 cricket that was, before the T20 World Cup, lauded for its sheer belligerence (with the bat) and artistry (with the ball).

Most tellingly, Bravo has been a cricketer who the West Indies have blindly relied on – irrespective of whether he is in form, he has just recovered from injury or has not played cricket for a long time.

If Bravo was in the mix, the West Indian faithful slept peacefully, knowing that when he turns up, everything will be alright. Or, that everything would be just like it was always meant to be.

After all, when all plans were going haywire, the Bravo plan was always going to be right, irrespective of whether the opposition had worked out potential solutions or not. To an extent, the preparation even became immaterial – an apt summarization of Bravo’s greatness.

The Bravo and West Indies story might not have had the box-office ending it deserved. But there is no denying that this narrative has been an absolute blockbuster.

Bravo or the “Champion” might not have added another jewel to an already elaborate jewelry set. Yet, he will remain the “Champion” for all intents and purposes – someone who stood up for what he felt was right and of course, someone stood up when his team needed him most.

His biggest achievement, though, would be his ability to be the one constant in a game that glitters with variables. If you didn’t know the answer to the Bravo quandary, not even the cricketing gods could save you. Even if you knew the answer, you probably didn’t.