Dwayne Bravo played for the Men in Yellow for 10 seasons in the IPL.
In a game which is predominantly played with the bat and ball, there was a wicketkeeper-batter at the international level, who played with the minds of the players. There would be zero brownie points to guess which cricketer we’re referring to. MS Dhoni and his heroics behind the wickets are both well known in the cricketing industry. However, his former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) teammate Dwayne Bravo shared another memory in a recent podcast.
The 42-year-old former West Indies all-rounder featured on the Beard Before Wicket podcast for a chat revolving around his cricketing career. He touched upon many points, the most important of which were the days of struggle for him and his side when they were not on the same terms with their cricket board. That being said, Dwayne Bravo shared a very dear incident about MS Dhoni as well.
It is no secret that CSK was a team which was built on the foundation of all-rounders. Majority of their middle-order batters were all-rounders back then – a state from which they are evolving in the last few seasons. Amongst all the all-rounders, Dwayne Bravo was massively important to their chances, because of his bowling skills which he brought to the table.
When CSK came back from the ban in 2018, Bravo narrated an incident wherein he dived to save a boundary near the ropes. What happened next, left the West Indian legend in a state of ‘wow’, as he himself narrates. The former CSK skipper asked him not to dive on the field, and it had nothing to do with his fielding abilities.
“In 2018 when we came back after the ban, I dived for a ball while fielding at long-on. He [MS Dhoni] called me into the ring, and after the over, as I walked past, he said to me – Do not ever dive on my cricket field again. Your four overs are more important than saving four runs. When he said that, I was like ‘wow'”, said Dwayne Bravo on the podcast.
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Like a lot of other players, Bravo emphasised on the fact that MS Dhoni’s style of captaincy was different than a lot of skippers they played under. The former CSK skipper trusted the ability of the player, and backed a player to the hilt, which gave one the belief to perform. Bravo explained that the simple instruction ‘not to dive’ changed a lot of his mindset.
“That is the kind of thing he does. He knows what you are good at, and he wants you for that reason. He does not want you to try to do anything or be anybody else”, narrated Bravo.
The 2011 ODI World Cup winning skipper used to use Bravo very smartly and at the right moments. Dhoni used to bring him on especially when the run-scoring of the opposition used to increase. Moreover, mostly at Chepauk, Bravo used to be used at the death considering his abilities with the slower delivery and the knack to mix up his variations very well.
The West Indian all-rounder was a powerhouse in the shortest format, especially in the Indian Premier League (IPL). In 161 matches in the IPL, he picked 183 wickets at an economy of 8.38, which comprised a couple of four-wicket hauls. To add to that, he also scored 1,560 runs with five fifties, which was good considering the position he batted at.
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