West Indies star batsman Nicholas Pooran has surprised everyone by retiring from international cricket at the age of just 29. The West Indies’ leading T20I player and run-scorer announced his retirement on social media.
Recently, there has been a wave of star cricketers leaving the national team. Nicholas Pooran is the latest addition. Earlier, Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell had withdrawn from the ODI format in the last 1 month. Heinrich Klaasen retired completely. Now Pooran’s name has been added to it. All of them will play in franchise cricket even after leaving the national team.
Nicholas Pooran’s sudden retirement has come as a big blow to the West Indies team. The two-time world champions failed to get a place in the 2023 ODI World Cup. After that, they were trying to reshape themselves with the white ball. Pooran’s retirement is a blow to that.
At least in T20 cricket, Pooran was at his best. He hit the most sixes (170) in the format last year. In the recently concluded IPL, Pooran crossed the 500-run mark for the first time in a season and hit a tournament-high 40 sixes.
After the IPL, Puran withdrew himself from the England and Ireland tour to give himself some rest. He then announced his retirement. In his Instagram post, Puran wrote, “After much thought and introspection, I have decided to announce my retirement from international cricket.”
Puran mentioned in his post, “Wearing the maroon jersey, standing during the national anthem, and giving it my all every time I step onto the field – these feelings are beyond words for me. Captaining the team was an honour for me, which I will always hold in my heart.”
“Although my international chapter ends here, my love for West Indies cricket will never wane. I wish the team and the entire region success and strength in the future.”
