5 best West Indian batsmen in IPL

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Bowling might be his biggest strength, but Bravo has shown that he can be quite handy with the bat as well

West Indies may not be the force they once were in Test and ODI cricket, but they certainly are one of the best teams around when it comes to the T20 format.

The shortest format of the game has grown by leaps and bounds over the years and is now an integral part of any bilateral series and of course, with a World Cup of its own, teams are identifying players tailor-made for the format and blooding them in for the future.

West Indies are one side that can boast of many specialist T20 players and that has reflected with their strong appeal in the Indian Premier League as well.

Known for their all-round skills as well as the ability to connect with the fans, the West Indies players attract plenty of attention during the IPL auctions and they proved to be quite a hit during the first decade of India's premier T20 competition.

Let's have a look at the Top 5 West Indies batsman who have lit up the IPL with their splendid performances over the first 10 years of its existence.

#5 Dwayne Bravo (Chennai Super Kings, Gujarat Lions, Mumbai Indians)

One of the most likeable players in the IPL roster, Dwayne Bravo started his IPL journey with Mumbai Indians, playing for them in the first three seasons from 2008 to 2010.

He scored 154 runs in the debut season of the IPL and followed it up with 218 runs in 2009. However, he failed miserably in the 2010 edition, scoring just 61 runs and picking up just 4 wickets from 10 matches.

Chennai Super Kings picked up the Trinidadian at the 2011 IPL auctions and thus began a prolific partnership that has made him a favourite in Chennai.

While he didn't make a massive impact in 2011, Bravo scored 371 runs at an average of 46.37 and a strike rate of 140.53 thereby providing the stability and aggression lower down the order for the star-studded side.

Over the past few seasons, Bravo has been more prolific with the ball, most notably during the 2013 and 2015 seasons when he picked up 32 and 26 wickets respectively.

CSK's 2-year ban meant that Bravo moved to Gujarat Lions in 2016 but missed the entirety of IPL 2017 due to an injury he picked up during the Big Bash League.

With CSK back in the reckoning for 2018, Bravo, who was retained by the franchise using the RTM card, returns to familiar territory and he will certainly be hoping to make quite an impact with both bat and ball.

Extra Cover: CSK team 2018: Full list of players bought by Chennai Super Kings

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