Bravo picks Drakes, Shepherd and Odean Smith to fill his shoes

By Brandon Corlette

West Indies T20 legend Dwayne Bravo has picked Caribbean breakout stars Odean Smith, Dominic Drakes, and Romario Shepherd as potential players to fill his shoes in the West Indies T20 International team. Bravo, who retired after West Indies’ final game at the T20 World Cup against Australia on Saturday, also said Nyeem Young was one to watch.

“If you look at the recent Caribbean Premier League (CPL), there are some good talents coming through and I am excited about that. Guys like Odean Smith, Dominic Drakes, and Romario Shepherd, these are good quality all-rounders, those are names to look out for. These are young players, but with experience and guidance, I think they have the ability.

“It is just a matter of allowing them to be themselves and create their own legacy and own greatness, with guidance from myself, Pollard, Chris and the senior players, to make sure we keep these players hungry and learning while we passed on our information. Nyeem Young is another to look out for, so we are not lacking the talent, that’s one thing for sure, especially in this format,” Bravo said.
The 38-year-old player, who has won the most T20 championships around the globe, said he would continue plying his trade in franchise leagues, but he would take up coaching in the future.

“I will continue playing franchise cricket for a few more years as long as my body will allow me to,” Bravo said after the game at Abu Dhabi. “My aim was to retire a few years ago, but with a change of presidency (at CWI) and change of leadership comes a change of heart, and I wanted to give back to West Indies, because I was still in a good place physically and enjoy my cricket.”

Bravo, who made his international debut in 2004, did not play for West Indies from October 2016 until the end of 2019, only returning in January 2020 when his good friend, Kieron Pollard, was installed as the new captain.