Pooran steps down as Windies white ball captain
ST JOHN’S, Antigua – Cricket West Indies (CWI) confirmed on Monday that Nicholas Pooran has decided to relinquish the white ball captaincy of the West Indies Men’s team following the team’s shock exit from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 tournament in Australia.
Pooran was officially appointed West Indies Men’s white ball captain in May this year when Kieron Pollard retired from international cricket. Overall, Pooran led the team in 17 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and 23 T20Is, recording series wins against the Netherlands (ODI 3-0) and Bangladesh (T20I 2-0).
Still, the Trinidadian cricketer has relinquished his captaincy after a disappointing exit by the Caribbean side at the T20 World Cup. The Windies lost to Ireland and Scotland, failing to qualify for the Super 12 stage of the T20 showpiece.
“I have given the captaincy a great deal of thought since the enormous disappointment of the T20 World Cup. I took on the role with great pride and dedication and have given it absolutely everything over the past year,” he said.
“The T20 World Cup is something that must not define us and I will readily get involved in the upcoming reviews. And whilst it will be several months until we reconvene as a squad, I want to give CWI plenty of time to prepare for the matches against South Africa in March and beyond.
“This is not me giving up. I remain ambitious and still view the captaincy of West Indies cricket as an honour that is bestowed upon you. There is no doubt I remain fully committed to West Indies cricket and I look forward to providing my services as a senior player in a supportive role. By stepping down now as the West Indies white ball captain I believe it is in the best interests of the team and for me personally, as I need to concentrate on what I can deliver to the side as a player. I desperately want us to be successful and the most value I can give to the team is through fully focusing on the role of consistently scoring runs at crucial times,” he added.
Meanwhile, CWI Director of Cricket, Jimmy Adams, thanked Pooran for his time leading the two teams.
“On behalf of CWI I want to thank Nicholas for his time leading our white ball teams. Having spoken with him I know he remains fully committed to West Indies cricket and I am convinced he has a big role to play in our future,” he said.