ICC WORLD TWENTY20, 2016

Darren Bravo pulls out of West Indies World T20 squad

Last updated on Monday, 15 February, 2016, 11:36 AM

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Darren Bravo became the third man to withdraw from the squad after Pollard and Narine pulled out on Friday. © Getty

Darren Bravo became the third West Indies cricketer to withdraw from the national squad for the upcoming ICC World Twenty20 in India in March-April, on Sunday (February 14). The 27-year-old, however, stated that he wants to focus on the longer formats of the game.

Spinner Sunil Narine and all-rounder Kieron Pollard both pulled out of the squad on Friday, while the remaining 12 players have signed up for the March showpiece event after reaching a settlement with the West Indies Cricket Board following a bitter pay dispute.

"I'm very grateful and humbled for the opportunity to represent the West Indies at the World Cup," said Bravo, who has played only 12 Twenty20 Internationals for West Indies.

"However, I'm of the firm belief that I have a very big part to play in the resurgence of West Indies cricket in the longer formats of the game and I will like the opportunity to play in our Professional Cricket League (PCL) because it will put me in good stead and will allow me to achieve those goals that I have aligned myself for the year 2016 and beyond."

WICB are yet to name a replacement for Bravo but Ashley Nurse and Carlos Brathwaite are all set to fly down in place of Narine and Pollard.

Pollard opted to withdraw his participation due to an injury while Narine stated that he was under-prepared for the even after serving an international suspension for a suspect bowling action.

WICB, however, confirmed that the remaining 12-member contingent selected for the tournament has signed the contracts by their Sunday deadline offered by the board.

Captain Darren Sammy, in a letter written to the WICB, had revealed that the players, although keen on participation, but will be forced to withdraw from the March 8-April 3 event over the heavy pay cuts.

Sammy claimed that players had been offered just $6,900 per match in India, with around $27,600 to be made if a player featured throughout the tournament, which was in stark contrast to their 2012 title winning campaign, where the payments ranged from almost $60,000 to more than $135,000.

West Indies squad: Darren Sammy (C), Chris Gayle, Sulieman Benn, Jason Holder, Andre Fletcher, Dwayne Bravo, Samuel Badree, Lendl Simmons, Jerome Taylor, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Denesh Ramdin, Ashley Nurse and Carlos Brathwaite.