While noting that the timing of Nicholas Pooran’s retirement from international cricket is strange, former West Indies spinner Nehemiah Perry and renowned cricket commentator Barry Wilkinson believe there is more to the decision than meets the eye.

In a social media statement on Monday, the 29-year-old Pooran called time on his international career “after much thought and reflection”, with Cricket West Indies thanking him for his near-decade-long service to the senior men’s team.

Since his debut in 2016, Trinidadian Pooran has been regarded as one of the region’s most talented players. In 106 T20 Internationals (T20Is), the vastly talented left-hand batsman, who can also keep wicket, notched 13 half-centuries and boasted a healthy strike rate of 136.

He was also one of the team’s top performers in One-Day Internationals (ODIs), averaging almost 40 in 58 innings while registering three centuries and 11 half-centuries.

Pooran, whose last appearance for the West Indies was in December, asked to be rested for the ongoing tour of England and Ireland before his retirement announcement.

Speaking to the Jamaica Observer on Tuesday, Jamaican Perry and Barbadian Wilkinson believe there’s more to Pooran’s sudden decision.

“We don’t know what [happened] behind the scenes, what are some of the things that drove him to that sort of decision,” said Perry. “We don’t know the relationship between him and the board and the conversations they had in the past and maybe he’s thinking that ‘I just want to make some money’ and just maybe in the next five to six years ‘give it my all and accumulate as much [earnings] as I can’ and then move on in the second phase of life,” Perry added.

Wilkinson said: “I’m thinking something might have happened and triggered that immediacy. I’m not just going to jump on everybody’s bandwagon and say this is how international cricket is going and that’s why he did it. That might be a factor but I strongly believe something triggered the retirement rather than just say he left because he’s going to make more money on the international circuit.”

Pooran, who captained the Windies white-ball teams between 2021 and 2023, leaves as the side’s leading runs scorer in T20Is with over 2,200 runs.

There was belief in some quarters that when West Indies white-ball coach Daren Sammy was given all-format responsibilities starting with this month’s start of the home series versus Australia that he would have been able to encourage more of the region’s top players, including Pooran, to feature in the Test set-up. But in Pooran’s case, that has seemingly fallen through.

Perry, who has a combined 25 caps for the West Indies in One Day Internationals and Tests, doesn’t believe Pooran’s legacy with the regional side will be long-lasting due to his lack of contribution in red-ball cricket — the left-hand batsman has played only five first-class matches and never represented the Test team.

“To me, Test cricket is what I judge people on. Yes, you’re a ball striker and hit the ball out of the ground which is entertainment for me, but for me, it [the ultimate stage] is Test cricket,” he said.

“When you come out and play long version, bat and make a double hundred in trying times when your team is down and you can bat for a day and so on, show how you start an innings and blossom into a big score. I don’t think you have a big legacy when you only bowl four overs in a match or you make 100 off 30 balls; yes, in that [T20] format you have some impact but I judge you from Test cricket. With all due respect, ball beaters [are] just entertainers.”

Wilkinson doesn’t think the Daren Sammy-led side will be majorly affected by Pooran’s retirement.

“I don’t know if we did much better [with him in the team]. Pooran wouldn’t have played in the 2016 team that won [the World Cup], so between 2016 and 2025, I don’t think Nicholas Pooran was part of any massively successful West Indies line-up where we won World Cups or Champions Trophy or any major events. I’m not saying he won’t be missed, but I can’t say that we’ll be missing someone who was tremendously successful in leading us to any major title.”

Pooran is expected to continue playing franchise cricket around the world, including the Indian Premier League (IPL), in which it is estimated that he earns around US$2 million ($320 million) a season.