West Indies batsman Darren Bravo has been ruled out of the World Cup due to a low-grade tear to his left hamstring.
Johnson Charles, the opening batsman who last played international cricket in March 2014, has been approved by the ICC as his replacement. He averages 28.96 with two centuries and two fifties in his 30 ODIs, but recently smashed 177 off 124 balls against Barbados in the Nagico Super50 and 151 against the same opponents in the Regional four-day tournament.
Bravo suffered the injury while completing a quick single during West Indies’ win over Pakistan in Christchurch last week. The injury had ruled him out of the side’s matches against Zimbabwe and South Africa, but he was expected to make a comeback against India in Sydney on March 6. A team source, however, revealed on Thursday that the batsman was still unable to run and was taking longer than expected to recover.
After missing the South Africa tour because of personal issues, Bravo returned for the World Cup with mixed results. He scored two ducks in four innings, including one in a warm-up game, and was on 49 when he retired hurt in the match against Pakistan.