IPl 2023 - Dwayne Bravo retires from IPL and takes over as bowling coach of Chennai Super Kings

Dwayne Bravo retired from the IPL as a player and took over as the bowling coach of Chennai Super Kings. L Balaji, the bowling coach of the Super Kings till last season, has taken a one-year break due to what the franchise calls “personal commitments” but will be involved with the Super Kings Academy.

“I’m looking forward to this new journey because it’s something I see myself doing when my playing days are completely over,” Bravo, 39, said in a statement to the franchise. “I enjoy working with the bowlers and it’s a role I’m excited about. From player to coach I don’t think I have to adapt much because I’m always working with the bowlers when I’m playing and I’m trying to come up with plans and ideas, how to stay ahead of the batsmen.

“The only difference is that I won’t be standing at mid-on or mid-off anymore! I never thought I would be the leading wicket-taker in IPL history. But I’m just happy to be a part of IPL history!”

Bravo has played in the IPL every year since its inception in 2008, barring 2017 when an injury prevented him from featuring for Gujarat Lions. He was first signed up by the Mumbai Indians in 2008 and stayed with the team for three seasons before being bought by the Super Kings in the 2011 auction. When the Super Kings were suspended for two seasons – 2016 and 2017 – Bravo was picked by the Lions before being retained by the Super Kings in 2018.

He finished with 183 runs, the highest number of wicket-takers across 15 IPL seasons, 13 more than runner-up Lasith Malinga and 17 more than the next highest-hitting active bowler: Yuzvendre Chahal. Bravo has a wicket economy of 8.38 in 158 innings in 161 matches, with a best of 4 for 22. He has also taken 1560 runs at a strike rate of 129.57.

Bravo, one of the best death bowlers in the T20 game, bowled 1115 balls [36% of all his deliveries] between 17 and 20 overs and took 102 wickets in the phase. No one else has hit that many deliveries in the last four overs [Jasprit Bumrah is next with 1026] or taken so many wickets [Lasith Malinga is second on 90].

Part of the golden generation of T20 superstars from the West Indies that won the T20 World Cup in 2012 and 2016, Bravo joins his long-time international teammate in retiring from the IPL while taking on the role of coach in their respective teams. On 15 November, Pollard announced his retirement from playing and joined Mumbai Indians, the team he had been with throughout his IPL career, as batting coach.

Like Pollard, Bravo hasn’t stopped playing completely. He is currently playing in the Abu Dhabi T10 with Delhi Bulls and has also been signed up by MI Emirates for the inaugural ILT20 in the UAE next year, where Pollard will be their captain. He was one of eight Super Kings players released by the retention deadline last month. At the time, however, it appeared that it could be bought at the next auction, scheduled for December 23, as it was in 2021.

For the Super Kings, a team he has become an integral part of – almost synonymous with – over the years, Bravo played 144 matches, took 168 wickets and scored 1,556 runs. He has been involved in three of their four IPL victories – in 2011, 2018 and 2021; the only one he missed was in 2010 when he was still in Mumbai. While with the Super Kings, he won the Purple Cap for most wickets in 2013 (32 wickets) and 2015 (26 wickets). He remains one of only two players – Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the other – to have won the Purple Cap twice.

“He has been a key member of the Super Kings family for over a decade and we are delighted to continue our partnership,” said Kasi Viswanathan, CEO of Super Kings. “Bravo’s wealth of experience will be of immense value to our players and support staff. We are confident that our bowling group will thrive under his leadership.”

Source link