“I had to take the mantle with DJ [Bravo] going down and Russell isn’t 100% fit,” Pollard said. “Narine is not playing because he’s not fit through injury. Obviously, I had to manage it and it’s good that you’re in a position where you have qualified [for the playoffs]. Yes, you wanna finish in the top two and you end up in the situation where you look around who can do the job for you going into the back end of the tournament. I haven’t been bowling much, but it was a good sort of shift for me today. But having said that from the bowling perspective looking at the last couple of games, we have some work to do.”
‘What a player, what a career, what a man!’ – Du Plessis pays tribute to Bravo
After Bravo retired hurt and hobbled off the field, du Plessis embraced him with a hug and later paid tribute to the CPL stalwart. Bravo is the most decorated player in the CPL, having won five titles in all, including three with TKR. He led TKR to back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018 before captaining St Kitts and Nevis Patriots to their first title in 2021.
Du Plessis had captained Bravo at Texas Super Kings in the USA’s Major League Cricket (MLC) and had also played alongside Bravo at Chennai Super Kings in the IPL.
“Sad to see DJ Bravo finishing in that way,” du Plessis said. “In my mind, he’s obviously someone that I’ve admired for a long time. Looks like it’s gonna be the end of his CPL. Just want to mention to him that what a player, what a career, what a man! The home people would be super proud with his cricket. He’s done so much for everyone around the Caribbean. I would have liked to give him a nice send-off walking off the field, clapping him off. But as I said I was just trying to stay alive [in the Tarouba heat] at the back end. But I feel he [Bravo] needs a special mention.”