West Indian World T20 Hero Carlos Brathwaite Has Delhi Daredevils Excited Ahead Of IPL Opener

Carlos Brathwaite's assault on Ben Stokes last Sunday not only overwhelmed West Indian fans, it also had a few people in the Delhi Daredevils team management purring in delight as their Rs 4.2 crore pick for this year's IPL stole the limelight at the Eden.

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Brathwaite, an allrounder, also excelled with the ball in the final against England, returning figures of 3 for 32. However, it was his batting that had prompted the Daredevils management to shell out a fortune for the player. The team think-tank was swayed after watching his hitting skills on Youtube.

It is ironical that the 27-year old shot to fame on Sunday with his batting, something that has became his second skill as he moved up the ranks in domestic cricket. He has 88 first-class wickets at an average of 22.93 in 38 matches while he has scored 1471 runs at an average of 27.24 with just one century.

Brathwaite started off as a batsman in junior cricket but made it to the West Indies team last November riding on his skills with the ball primarily.

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Daredevils CEO Hemant Dua hopes Brathwaite's overnight stardom will help the fans connect more with a team which has been languishing at the bottom of the table over the past two seasons. Be it David Warner, Glenn Maxwell or Andre Russell, Daredevils have a history of unearthing talent from other countries and giving them a platform. But often, the franchise has also let go of the services of these very stars after just a season or two. "I don't want to comment on the past. But we hope we build a strong base for the future this time," Dua said.

Brathwaite's new-found stardom and the price paid for him will have the team management under pressure to play him in every match in IPL. "Every player will play on merit. The price tag means nothing here. It was his (Brathwaite) day and he performed in the World T20 final. In T20, as West Indies have shown, every other player has to come to the party in every match," Dua reckoned.

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Meanwhile, Brathwaite will be back at the Eden Gardens tomorrow when Daredevils open their IPL-9 campaign against Kolkata Knight Riders. A classmate of pop star Rihanna, the Barbados player celebrated the WT20 title with his girlfriend.

West Indies skipper Darren Sammy was all praise for Brathwaite's for effort that sealed West Indies' second WT20 trophy. "There was a reason why he was bought in the IPL. You saw what he is capable of doing. He is one to watch out for," Sammy said.