For a player who went on to become synonymous with the mighty Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and, in many ways, the Indian Premier League (IPL) itself, West Indies great Dwayne Bravo had a rather quiet start to his career in the tournament. Bravo was active in the first season of the IPL but wasn't one of the headline buys in the 2008 auction. Instead, he was signed by the Mumbai Indians as a replacement for the injured Lasith Malinga.
It was in 2011 that Bravo was bought by CSK and in the years that followed Bravo helped them to the IPL title four times. While he made a name for himself as a batter as well in the initial years, it was with his bowling, particularly in the death overs that Bravo took teams apart.
Bravo will return with the CSK in the 2023 season but as a bowling coach, having retired from the IPL last year. He ended his career as the record wicket taker in the tournament, having taken 183 scalps in 158 innings at an average of 23.82 and economy of 8.38. Bravo also holds the record for wickets in a season - 32 wickets in 2013. He became the joint-holder of that record in 2021 when Harshal Patel equaled it.
Bravo played the IPL every year in his career except in 2017, when an injury forced him to sit out. He was playing for the Gujarat Lions, for whom Bravo turned up in the 2016 and 2017 seasons after CSK was suspended from the tournament for those two years. Bravo was picked by the Lions in the 2016 auction and was later retained by CSK in 2018.
{{/usCountry}}Bravo played the IPL every year in his career except in 2017, when an injury forced him to sit out. He was playing for the Gujarat Lions, for whom Bravo turned up in the 2016 and 2017 seasons after CSK was suspended from the tournament for those two years. Bravo was picked by the Lions in the 2016 auction and was later retained by CSK in 2018.
{{/usCountry}}With CSK alone, the team he came to become one of the most recognisable faces of, Bravo played 144 matches, picking up 168 wickets and scoring 1556 runs. He was involved in three of their four IPL triumphs - in 2011, 2018 and 2021; the only one he missed was in 2010, when he was still with Mumbai. While with CSK, he won the Purple Cap for the most wickets in 2013 (32 wickets) and 2015 (26 wickets). He remains one of two players - Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the other - to win the Purple Cap on two occasions.