West Indies World T20 champion Dwayne Bravo has issued a rallying cry to the Trinbago public to come out in numbers once more as reigning Caribbean Premier League champions Trinbago Knight Riders start their title defence at home against St. Lucia Zouks on 29 June.
Trinidad-born Bravo, 32, is one of the world's great all-rounders and played leading roles in both CPL and World T20 successes over the last year. In 31 CPL matches to date, he has scored 452 runs and has taken 47 wickets (including 28 last year) and was named the Man of the Series in last year's competition after a string of outstanding performances.
In addition, to his 40 Test and 164 One-Day International appearances to date, Bravo has also featured in 61 T20 Internationals for the West Indies and was a key member of the 2012 and 2016 World T20 winning sides.
In an exclusive interview, the TKR captain said that he is relishing the opportunity to lead the re-named side once more and hailed the acquisition of a trio of stars in Brendon McCullum, Hashim Amla and Sunil Narine.
"It was a great feeling and a great atmosphere last year. Trinidad & Tobago is known as one of the most carnival-like atmospheres when it comes to cricket. We're a very patriotic country where cricket is concerned and to play the finals in your home ground, and to also go on and win the finals, was a great achievement by the guys. The fans really get behind the team," said Bravo.
On the influence of Brendon McCullum this year for TKR, and thoughts on Dale Steyn and Dwayne Smith having played with them all for Gujarat Lions in the IPL, Bravo said: "They're all world-class players. I'm very happy to pin down McCullum. He's one of the world's most dangerous players and a few years ago, when we were both playing for Chennai (Super Kings), I even asked him to come and play for Red Steel back then! Now the name has changed. He was part of the KKR (Kolkata Knight Riders) family back in IPL and it's good that he joined the TKR team. So I'm happy to be team-mates with him, also with Hashim Amla who is another great player."
"Playing against the likes of Dale Steyn and Dwayne Smith and these guys, I mean as international players, we face these challenges often. But being in the same dressing-room, you get to know them on a more personal level, which is good. Despite whichever team we play for, we know that it's a good bonding and friendly relationship," the all-rounder added.