Dominic Drakes and Dwayne Bravo have spent quite a bit of time together this year. The Windies duo first won the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) title for St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, with Bravo as captain. Dominic Drakes then joined the Chennai Super Kings as a late replacement – a team for whom Dwayne Bravo has played for a decade – and won the Indian Premier League (IPL) title together. Now, Dominic Drakes has become a key part of the Delhi Bulls in season 5 of the Abu Dhabi T10 where he is again skippered by the ‘champion’. Needless to say, the two share a special bond and Dominic Drakes believes Dwayne Bravo to be the best mentor he could have asked for. “Bravo is an amazing captain, he always gives his players confidence. He has brought the best out of me this year,” reveals Dominic Drakes. “Bravo never puts any pressure on you – he will come up to me and ask what my gameplans are. He will ask me if I’m sure about it and then backs me to do well. You can also ask him anything – he is extremely approachable.” While Dwayne Bravo, with his 1000-watt smile and trendy dance moves, may seem like a laid back personality, Dominic Drakes feels he is anything but. “He may look like he is all fun and games but he is a hard worker. Us on the outside are not worried about his fitness at all but he takes it very seriously,” said Drakes. “He gets it into the gym on time, makes sure he trains hard. Just following him during practice and games, you learn a lot.”

The Drakes – a cricket family

For cricket fans of a certain age, the name Drakes and West Indies should ring a bell. The 23-year-old Dominic is indeed the son of former Windies pacer Vasbert Drakes. Vasbert Drakes played 12 Tests and 34 ODIs for West Indies from 1995 to 2004 and that certainly influenced his son Dominic. “I watched him play in the 2003 World Cup and a few Tests for the West Indies and that was pretty cool. But he never pushed me into cricket. It was just that I saw him play the game and wanted to do it myself,” said Dominic. You’d think a bonding session of cricket between father and son would make for a sweet moment but it’s not the case. “Oh man, we could never play in the same team because both of us are so competitive,” laughs Dominic Drakes. “We played together in just one game for my school team but in general, we have to be in different teams.” Dominic Drakes has got quite a cricketing education, initially from his family and now with one of the legends of the game, with whom he has already won two trophies this year. Can a third title come in the Abu Dhabi T10 for Delhi Bulls – who fell at the final hurdle last season? “Oh, I’d love to get that hat-trick! I want to contribute to this title run – the T10 is a new format for me and I guess it is more enjoyable. It is a good format to test your skills – be it death bowling or power hitting. So, winning the T10 would be great,” he signed off.