IPL will play 'huge' role if Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo will be fit and ready for T20 World Cup, says Brian Lara

Wed, Mar 11, '20

Brian Lara believes the upcoming IPL will play a "huge" role in deciding if Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo should play the T20 World Cup later this year or not. Given their age and the injury issues Gayle, 40, and Bravo, 36, have been facing over the last few years, Lara said a gruelling tournament like the IPL will be a good indicator for the West Indies selectors to identify the players for the team's preparations in the subsequent months.

"I think the IPL is going to be a huge point or signal for who is actually going to carry on," Lara told ESPNcricinfo in an interview, when asked about Dwayne Bravo and Gayle. "It's still going to be five months after the IPL for the World Cup. Fitness levels are very important, but a gruesome tournament like the IPL is going to tell the West Indies selectors who are the players that they really need going into the last four months of preparation for the World Cup."

While Dwayne Bravo returned to the West Indies T20I side after over three years, to play against Ireland at home in January and then the Sri Lanka T20Is earlier this month, Gayle has been away from T20Is since March 2019 although he has been playing in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and the Mzansi Super League (MSL) in the last few months. Since the IPL last year, he has played 10 matches in the Caribbean Premier League, six in the MSL and four in the BPL, while also participating in the ODI World Cup and three home ODIs at home against India in August.

Read more at ESPNcricinfo