Dwayne Bravo recalled to West Indies T20I squad

Dwayne Bravo is set to play his first international since 2016 after being recalled to the West Indies T20I squad for the series against Ireland.

Bravo, 36, confirmed in December that he was coming out of T20I retirement with the hope of securing a spot in the squad for the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year.

His last international was a T20I against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi in September 2016. Despite announcing his retirement in October 2018, he was included among West Indies' reserves for last year's World Cup, but when he officially made himself available again he said it would only be for T20Is.

"Once selected I'll be fully committed to represent the region again in T20 cricket, which I think is exciting for West Indies cricket and fans, with the young talents around," he said.

Bravo has had an extensive T20 career, amassing 450 matches - currently the second-most behind Kieron Pollard - with a host of franchises and leagues. He has played 66 T20Is, scoring 1142 runs and taking 52 wickets and it's with the ball that he is being earmarked for a key role by the West Indies selectors.

"Dwayne Bravo was recalled with the specific intention of bolstering our 'death' bowling which was identified as an area that really needs improving," Roger Harper, CWI's lead selector, said. "His record in this department speaks for itself. He will also be able to act as a mentor to the other 'death' bowlers and lend his experience wherever needed."

Jason Holder is being rested for the three-match series as part of workload management while allrounders Fabian Allen and Keemo Paul were unavailable due to injury. Paul suffered a back problem during the ODI series against Ireland.

There is also a recall for allrounder Rovman Powell and on Monday Romario Shepherd, who has played five ODIs but has yet to be capped in T20Is, was confirmed as the 14th player in the squad.

"Rovman Powell is a genuine all-rounder who we believe can add impetus and up the strike rate at the back-end of the innings," Harper said. "He was excellent in the Colonial Medical Insurance Super50 Cup - where he scored two excellent centuries and a 96 and also had some other good performances."