The Afghan cricket team has added a new member to their coaching staff. They have appointed West Indies’ great all-rounder Dwayne Bravo as a bowling consultant for the T20 World Cup.
The Afghan team has already arrived in St. Kitts and Nevis to participate in the upcoming global event in the West Indies and the United States. They are set to hold a 10-day training camp there. Bravo, who has won two T20 World Cups, will join the team during this camp.
Bravo was a key member of the Caribbean team that won the T20 World Cups in 2012 and 2016. He retired from international cricket after the 2021 T20 World Cup, but the all-rounder continues to dazzle in various T20 leagues.
Earlier this year, the 40-year-old played for the MI Emirates, who won the ILT20 title.
Bravo holds the record for the most wickets in recognized T20 matches, with 625 wickets to his name. He is the only bowler to have taken 600 wickets in this format. Only one player, his compatriot Kieron Pollard, has played more T20 matches than Bravo, with 660 compared to Bravo’s 573.
Besides his playing career, Bravo also has coaching experience. After retiring from the IPL in December 2022, he became the bowling coach for the five-time IPL champions, Chennai Super Kings.
In the T20 World Cup, Afghanistan will play all their group stage matches in the West Indies. Overall, Bravo’s experience is expected to be immensely beneficial for the Afghans in the global event.
Before the main tournament begins, Afghanistan will play two warm-up matches against Oman and Scotland on May 29 and 31 in Trinidad.
The main campaign for the team in the global event will start on June 4 with a match against Uganda. On June 8, they will face New Zealand, with both matches taking place in Guyana.
The team’s last two group matches in Group ‘C’ will be against Papua New Guinea and the host West Indies on May 14 and 18, respectively, with the first in Trinidad and the latter in St. Lucia.
Another West Indies star all-rounder, Pollard, will also be seen in the World Cup. He has been appointed as an assistant coach for England for the upcoming tournament. England’s campaign to defend their title will begin on June 4 with a match against Scotland.
