Darren Bravo pulls out of West Indies' South Africa tour

New Delhi: West Indies cricketer Darren Bravo has withdrawn from the tour of South Africa. The flamboyant left-handed batsman cited personal reasons for the pull out.

After the much maligned India tour, West Indies are visiting South Africa for a December-January tour which will have three Test matches, besides three T20 Internationals and five One-Day Internationals.

The 2-year-old was one of the 15 players chosen by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) for the all-important tour. It's interesting to note that the cricket board had made it mandatory for all the players to sign the tour contract. Last month, West Indies cricket team pulled out of the India tour because of a contract and payment dispute with their board.

Confirming Bravo's unavailability, the WICB release a statement which reads, "Darren Bravo wrote to chairman of selectors Clive Lloyd and requested not to be considered for the Test series due to personal reasons. The WICB extends its best wishes to Bravo as he seeks to address his personal matters and looks forward to his return to the game."

Bravo had earlier told Trinidad & Tobago selectors to not consider him for the regional four-day competition which started last week.

Known for his resemblance to West Indies batting legend Brian Lara, Bravo is famous for his nonchalant stroke making. In relation, he is also a cousin to Lara. The current West Indies ODI captain, Dwayne Bravo is his half-brother.

He made his West Indies debut in a ODI match against India at Kingston in 2009. A year later he played his first Test match against Sri Lanka at Galle.