Pakistan v West Indies: 5 Youngsters to watch out for

2. Nicholas Pooran:

If there is any young batsman in the West Indies who can quickly make a permanent spot in the explosive batting order, then it has to be Nicholas Pooran. He fills two voids at once – He is a hard hitting batsman and a quality wicket-keeper. West Indies, as far as one knows, have never really had a guy who could play the role of an aggressive wicket-keeper batsman on a long term basis.

His numbers have been wonderful in the past couple of years. The 20-year-old first grabbed the limelight in the 2014 Under-19 World Cup. Later he made waves in the domestic circuit before placing a strong bet for national selection with his performances in this year’s Caribbean Premier League where he scored 217 runs in 8 innings for Barbados Tridents at a stellar strike rate of 197.

In his first season of professional cricket in 18 months following a career-threatening car accident in 2015, Pooran justified his selection thoroughly and finished with the highest strike among any batsmen who had scored more than 30 balls. These performances were very hard to ignore and he finally received his call.