PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) — Cricket West Indies chief executive, Johnny Grave, has warned there will be no immediate return to the international side for Darren Bravo, after the left-hander thrice rejected offers to end his exile from the senior squad.
The 29-year-old Bravo has not played for West Indies in 18 months since he was sent home ahead of the Zimbabwe Tri-Series for an ill-advised Twitter rant ridiculing CWI president, Dave Cameron.
And though the stand-off between Bravo and the CWI was ended last July, the Trinidadian has continued to ply his trade on the international Twenty20 circuit.
Grave said it was unlikely Bravo would be selected for the upcoming home series against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, especially having not played first class cricket for a protracted period.
“He’s gonna struggle to get straight back in the side, so that probably rules him out of the summer tours,” the Englishman told the NewsDay here.
“I don’t think, having not played any cricket in the long format for so long and just playing T20s, you can just walk back on a Test team and be expected to perform.”
He added: “We’ve got an a A-team tour to England coming up that maybe [he might be open to], if he wants to commit [to West Indies cricket]. It’s a tri-series with India and England.”
Bravo remains the Caribbean side’s premier Test batsman. He is the only one of the current crop who averages 40, having played 49 Tests and struck eight hundreds.
He had made himself available for Trinidad and Tobago Red Force’s final first class match of the last season, along with the first eight matches of the Super50 campaign, but a communication mix-up saw him ruled out of selection.
Grave said he and director of cricket, Jimmy Adams, intended to meet with Bravo to ascertain what his career plans were and if they involved representing West Indies.
“It’s a question for Darren. We asked him if he wanted to be part of the England tour (last year), he said his focus was on the Caribbean Premier League,” Grave pointed out.
“We asked him if he wanted to tour New Zealand and he said he was focused on the Bangladesh Premier League.We invited him for the qualifiers (ICC World Cup) and he said his focus was on Pakistan Super League), I haven’t gotten any further info.”
He continued: “The onus is on him to tell Caribbean people what his intentions are, whether he wants to play any other formats than T20. Jimmy Adams and I want to meet with Darren.We want to sit down and have an open conversation so we can be clear of his plans.”
West Indies host Sri Lanka next month for three Tests before Bangladesh arrive in July for a full tour. Later in the year, the Windies will tour Bangladesh and India for full series.
The ICC World Cup bowls off next May in England and Wales.
