“I am truly honoured to be appointed captain of the West Indies team,” Pooran was quoted as saying in the release. “I am following the footsteps of several giants of the game who have created an amazing legacy for West Indies cricket. This is indeed a prestigious role, a pivotal position in the West Indian society, as cricket is the force that brings us all West Indians together.
“To be named captain is indeed the highlight of my career so far and I want to drive the team forward to accomplish great things on the field for our fans and loyal supporters.”
Following his T20I debut in 2016, Pooran has represented West Indies in 94 white-ball internationals and has over 3300 runs across formats. The appointment comes at a time when he has began flourishing at the top level – he scored close to 500 runs in T20Is last year while continuing his form this year with 348 T20I runs at an average of 49.71 in 2022. He is currently playing in the middle order for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2022.
West Indies’ next international outing is the three ODIs against Netherlands in Amstelveen from May 31, which are part of the ICC World Cup Super League. Pooran will oversee two white-ball tournaments as captain – the T20 World Cup later this year and the Men’s Cricket World Cup next year.
“Nicholas Pooran is a specially gifted cricketer, and the right person to take over the white ball captaincy,” Ricky Skerritt, CWI President, said. “We are confident that he will continue to climb the leadership learning curve speedily, and successfully. I appeal to all West Indies cricket stakeholders to give Nicholas the support and encouragement that he deserves.”