IPL...Here I Come !!!

"This is a situation forced on me," said Bravo "It is not a decision I made. It was made by the West Indies' team medical staff and the selectors. The situation is that I have been advised by doctors to get my ankle stronger before I can play five-day cricket. The plan is to join the West Indian team in England when the one-day series begins."

Dwayne Bravo's surgically-repaired ankle has been deemed too fragile for West Indies' Test series in England, but strong enough to withstand the rigours of Twenty20 cricket. Bravo, speaking prior to boarding a Durban-bound flight on Tuesday, confirmed he will represent the Mumbai Indians in the IPL while his West Indian team-mates play two Tests against England.

Bravo was in a more conciliatory mood this week when discussing the circumstances under which he will be allowed to play for the Mumbai Indians while his West Indian teammates are engaged in a Test series in England.

"The tour is going on and the West Indies will take part in that series [in England]," he said. "I am excluded because of my situation with the injury. I have played five one-day games for the West Indies but I am yet to play in any longer forms of the game. I still am experiencing side effects [with the ankle]. I am trying to monitor it as best I can and work with the physio and the team doctor to get myself 100 percent fit. I will look to play in the Test series against Bangladesh later in the year and the one-day series in England before that."

Bravo, rated one of international cricket's premier all-rounders, was reported last year to have signed a contract worth between $200,000 and $250,000 with the Mukesh Ambani-owned Mumbai franchise, and rewarded them with 11 wickets at 21.09 and 178 runs at 29.66. So desperate were they for him to play a ninth and final game in 2008 - against Deccan Chargers on May 18 - the Indians agreed to fly Bravo to Jamaica via private jet to allow him to play the first Test against Australia beginning at Sabina Park four days later.

Mumbai might opt for a similar course of action in 2009, should Bravo prove similarly valuable in South Africa. The first match of the one-day series between the West Indies and England will be played at Headingley on May 21; the same day the Indians are due to play Delhi in their final home-and-away match of the IPL season.