Is Dwayne Bravo the best T20 death bowler in the world?
West Indies’ title-clinching victory in the ICC World T20 2016 was in many ways a revelation for a nation plagued with numerous controversies.
It showed that despite being shunned and criticized for reasons best known to the critics, the West Indian players possessed an indomitable will and an immaculate team spirit, and that they were determined to win the championship and provide the much-needed respite to the deeply hurt Caribbean community.
It also showed how formidable a side West Indies was when it came to T20 cricket, as the playing XI had potentially 10 all rounders, and all of them had impressive, if not terrific, records in T20 cricket.
The likes of Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell, and the newly unearthed gem, Carlos Brathwaite, stepped up to take responsibilities throughout the tournament, and that helped the West Indies maintain a terrific win record, winning all of their games except one.
The emotional outburst from the players, especially from the captain Darren Sammy, and Samuels explained the struggles that the team had to go through and the determination they showed to overcome all odds and be crowned as the ‘Champions.’
If the victory was emphatic, the trademark celebration that followed has earned a reputation for itself as well, as the celebratory song ‘Champion’ perfectly eulogized the journey of the Caribbean conglomeration of nations to the glory that earned the players and the fans, the much-needed respect that had gone begging since the turmoil between the WICB and the cricketers first surfaced.
Dwayne Bravo: The T20 lynchpin
Hence, the song that has marked the culmination of years of anguish and disgust, both of the fans as well as the cricketers is now the favourite of every Caribbean cricket lover, and so has been the man who composed the anthem, but is, as his captain Darren Sammy pointed out during the post-match briefing, a cricketer, and not a singer or a dancer.
Dwayne Bravo’s role in every West Indian team that he has been a part of has been extremely critical, and over the years, he established himself as a menacingly deceptive medium-pace bowler.
With his Test and ODI careers being prematurely cut short, courtesy the ongoing tussle between the WICB and the players, Bravo, since 2014, has been mostly involved in T20 cricket, be it club cricket or international cricket.
It is here, in the shortest format of the game that he has carved out a niche for himself, and has earned a reputation of a T20 maestro. His records, both in international T20s as well as domestic ones tell the tale quite comprehensively.
| Dwayne Bravo | Matches | Wickets | Economy | Bowling Average | Best Bowling Performance |
| All T20s | 294 | 304 | 8.02 | 24.15 | 5/23 |
| T20I | 61 | 49 | 8.44 | 27.51 | 4/28 |
| IPL | 94 | 111 | 8.08 | 21.29 | 4/22 |
| BBL | 14 | 13 | 7.66 | 32.26 | 3/21 |
| CPL | 31 | 47 | 7.80 | 17.70 | 5/23 |
I would start off by mentioning the fact that he is the only bowler in world cricket to have more than 300 T20 wickets to his name.
Having played 294 matches in itself is a testimony to the fact that he is a potential match-winner in the shortest format of the game and has been in heavy demand across clubs all over the world. Maintaining a decent economy rate of 8.02 even after playing close to 300 matches is a remarkable feat in itself.
Bravo ranks 13th in the all-time list of the highest wicket takers in T20I, 5th in the list of top wicket-takers in the IPL and is the all-time highest wicket-taker in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
However, there are still 12 players who have taken more wickets than him in international T20s and a few of them have played fewer matches as compared to the Caribbean all-rounder, with better economy rates and averages. So, what is it that makes me argue for him as the one at the topmost echelons of T20 death bowling?