On April 3, 2016, Carlos Brathwaite hit four sixes in as many balls to hand West Indies a T20 World Cup victory against England. From that point onwards, Brathwaite has failed to live up to expectations of his being a consistent performer.
However, he received multiple opportunities in West Indies teams, even captaining the T20 International Team in 27 matches, wherein he lost 14.
Carlos Brathwaite
Are we hoping for another miracle from this 30-year-old Bajan lad? Is that the reason why he has been selected ahead of the promising Keemo Paul, or the experienced Kieron Pollard, or the consistent Raymon Reifer?
Selected among the nine World Cup debutants in the West Indies squad, Brathwaite has played in 33 One Day International matches (ODIs), and the record of this “all-rounder” has been poor in both departments. Brathwaite has snared 31 wickets at par bowling average of 43.61, and has had one five-wicket haul in 31 innings in which he had opportunity to bowl for the West Indies.
Kieron Pollard
His batting record signifies inconsistency. He has a batting average of 14.40, with 389 runs in 29 innings, including one half-century.
It was Carlos Brathwaite who dented the hopes of Ben Stokes in the World T20 final when he smashed four sixes. Stokes, who is also an all-rounder, has had a better ODI career in contrast to Brathwaite’s. The Englishman has compiled three ODI centuries and 14 half-centuries in his 68 innings, while he has snared 63 ODI wickets and taken one five-wicket haul. Clearly, Stokes has played more ODIs than Brathwaite, but the Englishman has shown consistency, something Brathwaite has lacked.
The emerging talent, Guyanese Keemo Paul, who played 11 ODIs for the West Indies, has shown great promise in all three formats of International cricket, and has also dominated the Regional level in the past years, but he was not considered for the World Cup.
The 21-year-old was absent from the team that played in the ODI Series against England because of an injury he sustained in the Test Series. Currently, Paul is involved in the IPL with the Deli Capitals, and has registered a ‘player of the match’ performance.
Brathwaite, who is struggling to make the Kolkata Knight Riders’ starting XI, continues to get opportunity in West Indies teams because of his one time performance in 2016.
If the selection panel had decided to pick Brathwaite based on experience, the big hitting all-rounder Kieron Pollard should have made the World Cup squad. Pollard is one year older that Brathwaite, and is vastly more experienced, with 101 ODIs to his name. Currently, Pollard is involved in the IPL, and has been one of the Caribbean players to add flavour to the tournament with his explosive batting and top-notch fielding.
Pollard has also displayed good signs of leadership qualities in the past editions of CPL, wherein he led Barbados Tridents, and in his recent match wherein he captained Mumbai Indians and led from the front.
It must not be forgotten that Carlos Brathwaite has also shown ability to lead teams. In the 2018-19 Regional Super50, he led the Combined Campus and Colleges to their maiden championships.
Speaking of Regional cricket, Guyana Jaguars player Raymon Reifer has arguably been the most consistent performer in the Regional circuit. He was awarded with an ODI selection for the squad to Ireland in the upcoming Tri-Series.
Based on consistency, Reifer would have easily made the World Cup team ahead of Brathwaite. Reifer also adds variation to the bowling with his left-arm seam.
Therefore, it does appear that Brathwaite would have gained selection not because of experience, consistency or promise; but based on his four sixes against Stokes, a once-in-a-lifetime performance registered on April 3, 2016.
