Nicholas Pooran

Nicholas Pooran (; born 2 October 1995) is a Trinidadian cricketer who currently plays for the West Indies cricket team in limited overs cricket and a former captain of the limited-overs formats. He also plays for the Trinidad and Tobago in West Indian domestic matches. He made his international debut for the West Indies in September 2016. In May 2022, Pooran was named as the captain of the West Indies team for limited overs cricket. On 21 November 2022, Pooran stepped down as the limited-overs captain of the West Indies team.

Domestic career

From McBean, Couva, Pooran attended Naparima College in San Fernando, and played for the school's cricket team. A left-handed wicket-keeper/batsman, he represented Trinidad and Tobago at various underage and schoolboys tournaments, and made his national under-19 debut at the 2012 regional tournament, aged only 16.Miscellaneous matches pla, yed by Nicolas Pooran (34)
– CricketArchive. Retrieved 3 August 2014.

Pooran debuted for the West Indies under-19s in October 2013, in a bilateral series against the Bangladesh under-19s, and went on to play at the 2014 Under-19 World Cup. The team's vice-captain and primary wicket-keeper, he scored 303 runs from six matches, ranking fourth for total runs and leading the West Indies' averages.

This included half-centuries against Canada and India, and an innings of 143 runs against Australia (from a team total of 208 all out), which was the highest score of the tournament and was subsequently described as "one of the most memorable innings under pressure in the tournament's history". Pooran's innings was the highest ever under-19 ODI score against Australia, and his 136-run ninth-wicket partnership with Barbadian Jerome Jones was a record for all under-19 matches.

Before playing at international under-19 level, Pooran had played four matches for Trinidad and Tobago in the domestic one-day Regional Super50 competition, in February and March 2013.

Prior to the inaugural 2013 CPL season, he was selected in the Red Steel squad, Trinidad's CPL franchise, at age 17 was the youngest player in the competition. On debut against the Guyana Amazon Warriors, he scored 54 from 24 balls, an innings which included six sixes and was noted for its "clean, calm stroke play" and "uninhibited aggression". Pooran's batting was less successful for the remainder of the tournament, and also at the 2013 Champions League, where he represented the Trinidad and Tobago national side rather than the Red Steel franchise.

He again played for the Red Steel during the 2014 CPL season, but is yet to score any further half-centuries. Pooran made his first-class debut for Trinidad and Tobago against the Leeward Islands in November 2014, during the 2014–15 season of the Regional Four Day Competition.

In his second match, against Jamaica, he top-scored with 55 runs in T&T's second innings, before being one of Nikita Miller's seven victims. At club level, Pooran plays for Clarke Road in the Trinidadian leagues.

He also played part of the 2014 season in Ontario, representing the Redemption Sports Club in the Etobicoke & District Cricket League.

In January 2015, Pooran was involved in a road accident in St. Mary's, Trinidad, sustaining ankle and knee injuries. He was ruled out for both the remainder of Trinidad and Tobago's domestic season and the 2015 Caribbean Premier League.

In June 2018, he was named in the Cricket West Indies B Team for the inaugural edition of the Global T20 Canada tournament. In July 2020, he was named in the Guyana Amazon Warriors squad for the 2020 Caribbean Premier League (CPL). On 30 August 2020, in the CPL fixture against the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, Pooran scored his first century in a T20 match.

T20 franchise career

In February 2017, he was bought by the Mumbai Indians team for the 2017 Indian Premier League for INR 30 lakhs but didn't play any match in the whole season.

Pooran Played for Islamabad United in 2017 Pakistan Super League as he was drafted in as a replacement of England's Ben Duckett in United's squad. He joined the team ahead of play-offs. He made his debut against Karachi Kings.

Pooran went unsold in the 2018 IPL auction after setting his base price at INR 50 lakhs.

In October 2018, he was named in the Sylhet Sixers team, following the draft for the 2018–19 Bangladesh Premier League. He was the leading run-scorer for the team in the tournament, with 379 runs in eleven matches.

In December 2018, he was bought by the Kings XI Punjab in the player auction for the 2019 Indian Premier League for 4.2 crore ($). Pooran had an excellent IPL 2020 season as he scored a total of 353 runs in the 14 matches he played in the season. He was also the fourth highest six hitter in the 2020 IPL season as he hit 25 sixes altogether in the season. He however scored only 85 runs in IPL 2021.

In the 2022 IPL Auction, Pooran was bought by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for ₹10.75 crores.

He is bought by Lucknow Super Giants to play in the IPL 2023 season for INR. 16 Crore in the IPL auction held on 23 December 2022.

International career

He made his Twenty20 International (T20I) debut for the West Indies against Pakistan on 23 September 2016. In November 2018, he was named in the West Indies' squad for their tour to India. In the third T20I match, he scored an unbeaten 53 runs off just 25 balls to claim his maiden half-century in T20I cricket.

In February 2019, he was named in the West Indies' One Day International (ODI) for their series against England. He made his ODI debut for the West Indies against England on 20 February 2019. In April 2019, he was named in the West Indies' squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup. On 1 July 2019, in the match against Sri Lanka, Pooran scored his first century in ODIs. He finished the tournament as the leading run-scorer for the West Indies, with 367 runs in nine matches. Following the World Cup, the International Cricket Council (ICC) named Pooran the rising star of the squad. In July 2019, Cricket West Indies awarded him with a central contract for the first time, ahead of the 2019–20 season.

He later became vice-captain for the West Indies in T20I cricket. He even captained the West Indies cricket team in the 5-match 20 20 international series against the Australia cricket team which the Caribbean side won 4 games to 1 in place of the original 2020 international captain Kieron Pollard who injured his hamstring during training.

In November 2019, during the third ODI against Afghanistan, Pooran was found guilty of ball tampering. Pooran admitted the charge, and was banned for four T20I matches.

In July 2021, he was named in the West Indies' squad as the vice captain for their home series against Australia. As Kieron Pollard was ruled out of the first T20I, Pooran captained the West Indies for the first time in T20Is. He led the West Indies to a remarkable 18-run win over Australia in the first match of the T20I series. In September 2021, Pooran was named as the vice-captain of the West Indies' squad for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

During series against India, Pooran was the highest run scorer in T20I series. He scored 184 runs including three half centuries, highest score of 62. Despite his performance, West Indies lost all three matches.

On 3 May 2022, he was appointed as a captain of West Indies national cricket team for the limited overs format. During the third match of the ODI series against Pakistan, Pooran took his first wicket in international and ODI cricket, with his final figures being 4 for 48. He was named the captain for the West Indies squad for the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, however, the team suffered an early exit in the first round, after losing 2 out of 3 matches and failed to qualify for the Super 12 round. Post-World Cup, on 21 November 2022, Pooran stepped down as the limited-overs captain of the West Indies team.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pooran, Nicolas
1995 births
Living people
West Indies One Day International cricketers
West Indies Twenty20 International cricketers
Trinidad and Tobago cricketers
Trinidad and Tobago people of Indian descent
Sportspeople of Indian descent
Trinbago Knight Riders cricketers
West Indian cricketers of the 21st century
St Kitts and Nevis Patriots cricketers
Barbados Royals cricketers
Khulna Titans cricketers
Islamabad United cricketers
Mumbai Indians cricketers
Multan Sultans cricketers
Sylhet Sixers cricketers
Punjab Kings cricketers
Guyana Amazon Warriors cricketers
Cricketers at the 2019 Cricket World Cup
Wicket-keepers
Melbourne Stars cricketers
Sunrisers Hyderabad cricketers