Nicholas Pooran steps down as West Indies' T20I and ODI skipper

West Indies batter Nicholas Pooran has called it time on his captaincy stint and has stepped down as his team’s white-ball skipper. He was appointed for the role on May 4, 2022, but the team has not seen much success under his leadership. After losing the bilateral series against various teams, two-time champions West Indies failed to qualify for the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup 2022.

Cricket West Indies, after the team’s exit from the world tournament, had mentioned that the board will take some bold decisions and do a thorough post-mortem of the team’s situation. After West Indies bowed out of the tournament, their head coach Phil Simmons also decided to step down from his role following the team’s Test stint against Sri Lanka.

“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. 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,” Pooran was quoted as saying by Cricket West Indies.

“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.

I know we have it in us to carry West Indies cricket forward and be proud: Pooran

Pooran was appointed for the role after former skipper Kieron Pollard retired from all formats of international cricket. Last year, in the absence of Pollard, Pooran led the team as the stand-in skipper, against Australia to a 4-1 T20I series win. In total, Pooran led the team in 23 T20Is and 17 ODIs. And, under his leadership, the team managed to win against Netherlands (ODI, 3-0) and Bangladesh (T20I, 2-0)

“I am very thankful to CWI for the opportunity and faith shown in me and for the support that I have received by our devoted fans since taking the role, and to my teammates who have worked so hard as well. I know we have it in us to carry West Indies cricket forward and be proud,” Pooran concluded.

“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,” said CWI Director of Cricket, Jimmy Adams.