Dwayne Bravo hails Andre Russell, calls him Chris Gayle or Brian Lara of the T20 format

Earlier this year, West Indies whitewashed Sri Lanka in a T20I series 2-0 in the island nation. The win brought back the memories of 2012’s West Indies squad which won the World T20 in the same country. The star with the bat in both the matches was Andre Russell. The powerful hitter scored 35 runs from 14 balls in the first T20I. If that wasn’t enough, he bettered it with a 14-ball 40 run knock in the second T20I.

Seeing him bat like that might have reignited the hopes of the Caribbean fans for another title. Dwayne Bravo, the senior-most player in the West Indies side, was in full praise of the star all-rounder in a recent interview. He compared him with Chris Gayle, who over the years has been one of the most destructive batsmen in T20 cricket. Bravo also called the Jamaican the Brain Lara of T20 format.

‘Andre Russell is the best in the world’: Dwayne Bravo

During a chat with a Trinidad radio station I955 FM, Bravo was heard talking praises about Andre Russell. “He’s the best in the world. It’s the same I used to say of Chris Gayle when Chris Gayle was in his prime – we are happy to have him representing us, we didn’t have to come up and bowl against him in an international match. It’s the same with Andre Russell. Andre Russell now is our Chris Gayle, is our Brian Lara, in the T20 format. He is the superstar.”

Dwayne Bravo recently made his international comeback in T20Is. The all-rounder and former captain had announced his retirement from the international cricket a few years back. He had some strained relations with the West Indies Cricket Board officials.

But, after the changes in the set up for the board and integration of Kieron Pollard as the captain on the white-ball set up, DJ Bravo announced a comeback. There is no doubt the aim for the all-rounder would be to represent West Indies at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup later this year in Australia.

Both Bravo and Russell were part of the squad which lifted the World T20 title in India in 2016. The star all-rounders will be key for the Caribbean side once again if they were to lift the trophy for the third time. Back in 2012, when the side won their first title, both Russell and Bravo were the part of the side.

Russell will be once again seen in action for the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2020 if the tournament takes place. He scored 510 runs with a strike rate over 200. He also took 11 wickets during the season which resulted in him winning the Most Valuable Player of the Season award.