Sports: Nicholas Pooran to captain West Indies ODI and T20 International teams

SOURCE: WINDIES CRICKET: Cricket West Indies (CWI) today confirmed the appointment of Nicholas Pooran as the West Indies Men’s One Day International (ODI) and T20 International (T20I) captain, following the international retirement of Kieron Pollard.

Pooran will take over the captaincy for the West Indies ODI and T20I teams after being Pollard’s deputy over the last year. The appointment will include the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2022 and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in October 2023. Shai Hope has been recommended to stand as vice-captain of the ODI team.

CWI’s Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams said: “We believe Nicholas is ready for the challenge of leading our white ball teams given his experience, performances, and the respect he has within the playing group. The Selection Panel believes that Nicholas has matured as a player and were impressed with his leadership of both teams when Kieron Pollard had been absent. The experience he has gathered playing in various franchise leagues around the world was also a factor in the decision to recommend him for the T20 Captaincy.”

Pooran has already captained the West Indies Men in Pollard’s absence, leading them to a CG Insurance T20I Series win at home against Australia in 2021.

The left-handed wicketkeeper/batsman has eight half-centuries and an ODI century to his name. He has also scored eight T20I half-centuries for the West Indies Senior Men’s team. He first burst onto the cricket scene representing the West Indies Under-19 team at the 2014 ICC Men’s U19 World Cup, smashing 303 runs from six matches.

His first outing as captain will be the three away ODIs against The Netherlands in Amstelveen starting May 31 which form part of the ICC World Cup Super League.

PHOTO: SCREENSHOT- WINDIES CRICKET