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Bravo axed after 'big idiot' tweet

Star batsman stood down for series in Zimbabwe after calling on WICB chief Dave Cameron to resign

Star batsman Darren Bravo has been axed by the West Indies after he labelled the team's top official "a big idiot" in a row over player contracts.

Bravo was dropped from the squad for the forthcoming tri-nations one-day series in Zimbabwe after he hit out at the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) for their recent offer of a C-category player contract.

In a Twitter post, the Trinidadian told WICB president Dave Cameron to quit over the handling of new deals offered to some of the team's biggest stars.

A WICB spokesperson said Bravo had been replaced in the squad by Jason Mohammed "due to inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour, which is contrary to his contractual obligations to the WICB".

The public spat between Bravo and Cameron was sparked when the left-hander was only offered a C-category contract, which the batsman turned down.

Quick Single: Big names reject WICB contract offers

Bravo, Marlon Samuels and Carlos Brathwaite all knocked back contract offers, with Cameron revealing this week that Bravo's "poor" recent performances did not merit a higher pay grade.

Brilliant Bravo a one-man band

"It is explicit that if your averages are not above a certain level it tells you what contracts you get. It is very, very explicit," Cameron had told SportsMax TV.

"His averages in the last two years have been declining, so what do you do? Reward poor performance or do you encourage him to get better?"

While Bravo has averaged just 34 with the bat in Test cricket over the past two years, well below his career average of 40, he remains one of the most accomplished West Indian batsman having notched eight Test centuries and 16 fifties as well as three hundreds and 17 half-centuries in one-day cricket.

Since November 2014, opener Kraigg Brathwaite is the only West Indian to have scored more Test runs than Bravo's tally of 1089.

Bravo was the second-highest runscorer in the recent Test series against Pakistan, including scores of 87 and 116 in the first Test in Dubai. The 27-year-old averages 52 in the fourth innings of Tests, making him just one of 20 batsmen in history to average 50-plus in the final innings.

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In February, Bravo – contrary to the modern-day trend and certainly glaringly so to his countrymen – opted to skip the ICC World T20 tournament in order to play more first-class cricket in the Caribbean, with improvement as a Test batsman the end goal.

Quick Single: Brilliant Bravo fine tunes Test reputation

"I'm of the firm belief that I have a very big part to play in the resurgence of West Indies cricket in the longer formats of the game," Bravo said at the time.

"I will like the opportunity to play in our Professional Cricket League because it will put me in good stead and will allow me to achieve those goals that I have aligned myself for the year 2016 and beyond."

It remains unclear where and with whom Bravo's playing future lies.

Meanwhile, leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo has also been added to the ODI squad to replace off-spinner Sunil Narine, who has withdrawn from the squad for "personal reasons".

Bishoo was the leading bowler for West Indies in the recent Test Series against Pakistan in United Arab Emirates – where he took 18 wickets in the three matches. The 31-year-old has played 13 ODIs, with 20 wickets at an average of 23.8.

The West Indies, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka feature in the tri-nation series from November 14-27.

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