Nicholas Pooran, 29, and the West Indies’ leading T20I run-scorer, announced his decision just eight months before the T20 World Cup. Despite not having played Test cricket and last featuring in an ODI two years ago, Nicholas Pooran‘s sudden exit surprised many, especially given his success in franchise leagues.
West Indies batter Nicholas Pooran announced his retirement from international cricket at 29. Nicholas Pooran’s decision reflects a growing trend of players prioritising lucrative T20 leagues over national duty. This news is quite mind boggling for the cricket fraternity.
Nicholas Pooran is West Indies’ most-capped player in T20Is and their leading run-getter in the format as well. His retirement will come as a massive jolt for a side that’s been looking to make its way back up, especially in white-ball cricket after having missed out on qualification for the 2023 ODI World Cup.
Nicholas Pooran’s cricketing career a glimpse
Nicholas Pooran made his international debut in 2016 and last represented the West Indies in an ODI in July 2023. Nicholas Pooran featured in the squad for last year’s T20 World Cup and played his most recent T20I for the senior national side in December 2024. He led the West Indies in 2023 matches between 2021 and 2022 in T20Is.
The hard-hitting southpaw made his West Indies debut in 2016 and became the team’s most capped T20I batter (106) and the highest run-scorer for the side (2275). In only 97 innings, Pooran has smashed 149 T20I sixes, the best for the West Indies and fifth-highest overall. Having amassed over 4000 runs in international cricket, Pooran led the Windies outfit in 17 ODIs and 23 T20Is between 2021 and 2022.
Nicholas Pooran remains the only player with 2,000-plus runs in this regard. In 106 T20Is, the left-hander has amassed 2,275 runs at an average of 26.14. His tally includes 13 half-centuries and a strike-rate of 136.39. Pooran also has the most sixes for WI in T20I cricket (149).
Nicholas Pooran is at the peak of his powers in T20 cricket and had hit the most number of sixes (170) in the format last year. In the just-concluded IPL, Nicholas Pooran managed to breach 500 runs in a season for the first time and smashed 40 sixes – the most in this year’s tournament.
Nicholas Pooran recently topped the six-hitting charts in the IPL season with 40 maximums, and remains one of the most feared ball-strikers in the franchise circuit. Pooran only follows his Caribbean compatriots Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell in the T20 sixes charts, with a staggering 639 sixes in 398 appearances.
Nicholas Pooran has also captained West Indies full-time in limited-overs internationals in 2022 but won just 8 games out of 30 across both formats. West Indies’ first-round exit in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia prompted him to step down as the leader.
The 29-year-old was not picked for the ongoing tour to England and Ireland after he had requested Cricket West Indies for a break. Having never played Test matches for West Indies, Pooran made his debut in a T20I in September 2016. The ODI debut came in February 2019 but he hasn’t played the format ever since West Indies failed to secure a spot in the 2023 World Cup.
The ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers 2023 marked Nicholas Pooran’s final ODI apperance. The southpaw finished with 1,983 runs from 61 games at 39.66 (SR: 99.15). The tally includes 11 fifties besides three tons. Two of his three ODI tons came in that tourney.
He bows out of international cricket having scored over 4,000 runs across 61 T20 Internationals and 106 One Day Internationals. He last played for West Indies in December 2024 in T20s against Bangladesh, but has not played an ODI since July 2023 and does not play Tests. Nicholas Pooran is the most capped West Indian in T20 internationals with 106, and the leading T20I run-scorer with 2,275.
Nicholas Pooran’s decision comes in just days after South Africa wicket-keeper batter Heinrich Klaasen, another great of the game in the shortest format, quit international cricket too. While Nicholas Pooran intends to continue playing franchise cricket, the decision does make the purists question the future of the sport on the international spectrum.
West Indies batter Nicholas Pooran shocked the cricket world on Tuesday, June 10, by announcing his retirement from international cricket at the age of 29. Nicholas Pooran took to social media to share the news with his fans, describing it as a “very difficult” decision.
Nicholas Pooran’s unexpected announcement comes just days after he requested to be rested from the recently concluded white-ball series in England, following his commitments with the Lucknow Super Giants in the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL). He was in blistering form for Rishabh Pant’s side, amassing 524 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of nearly 200.
While many are concerned by Nicholas Pooran’s sudden retirement from Intenational cricket West Indies Head coach Darren Sammy believes that this would be a trend going forward with the rise of lucrative cricket leagues.
Daren Sammy is not surprized with 29 year’s old Nicholas Pooran’s early exit
West Indies head coach Daren Sammy believes Nicholas Pooran’s sudden retirement from international cricket underscores the increasing challenge of keeping players motivated to represent their national sides, and warned that more players could follow suit. Pooran, 29, announced his retirement from international cricket on Monday, just eight months ahead of the T20 World Cup. The swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batter is not only West Indies’ all-time leading run-scorer in T20Is, but also a highly sought-after player in the franchise circuit.
“My instincts told me something like that would happen,” Daren Sammy was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo after West Indies’ sixth consecutive white-ball defeat on the England tour.
Daren Sammy said he had already begun planning for life without Nicholas Pooran following an earlier conversation with the batter and his agent.
“Ideally, a talent like that, I would love to have him in the team. But I don’t control nor could I control anybody’s careers… I wished him well, he wished the team well. It is (about) trying to move on now from planning a gameplan without Nicholas Pooran.”
“With a World Cup coming ahead, I respect the fact that he told us early enough so we have more time to plan without him.”
Sammy, who led West Indies to title wins twice in T20 World Cups in 2012 and 2016, pointed to the broader trend of early retirements in modern cricket and warned that more players could follow Nicholas Pooran’s lead.
“I’m pretty sure more will follow in that mood, in that direction,” Sammy said.
“That’s the way T20 cricket is now, and especially coming from the West Indies, with the challenges that we face trying to keep our players motivated to play for the crest, so I wouldn’t be surprised.” “You saw everybody talk about Heinrich Klaasen, Quinton de Kock, these guys who’ve retired. It’s out of our control.” Nicholas Pooran’s exit comes at a time when West Indies have been grappling with on-field struggles and questions over player commitment.
Sammy said he discussed the significance of playing for the West Indies crest during the team meeting ahead of the Southampton T20I.
“Surprised? No, I’m not surprised. I said something to the guys in the team meeting today: we don’t have control. It’s up to each individual… to understand what the brand and the crest means, and come out and play a brand that those people come and travel three hours to watch you play because of what the crest means to them.
“It is up to each player to go out and put in that type of passion out there. I could only speak about it, but I can’t force anybody to do it, just like I can’t tell anybody when to call time on their career.”
Sammy also expressed concern about the team’s bowling, which conceded 628 runs in under 59 overs in the T20 series. With the T20 World Cup less than eight months away, he stressed the need to improve bowling discipline and skills. Despite the setbacks, Sammy remains optimistic about the team’s batting and believes there is time to build a competitive squad ahead of the World Cup. West Indies will next play a three-match T20I series in Ireland starting Thursday.
Nicholas Pooran’s retirement underscores a concerning trend in international cricket, particularly in the Caribbean, where a number of top talents are opting for lucrative T20 leagues over national duty. Notably, Nicholas Pooran was not awarded a central contract by Cricket West Indies in 2024, when multi-year deals were handed to several leading all-format players.
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