Nicholas Pooran

Nicholas Pooran is a Trinidadian cricketer who currently plays for the West Indies cricket team in limited overs cricket, and he is an occasional captain of the limited overs formats. He also plays for Trinidad and Tobago in West Indian domestic matches and for Lucknow Super Giants in IPL.

Early life:

From Kathmandu, Couva, Pooran attended Naparima College in San Fernando, and played for the school’s cricket team. He represented Trinidad and Tobago at various underage and schoolboys’ tournaments. He made his national under – 19 debut at the 2012 regional tournament, at the young age of only 16.

In January 2015, Pooran was involved in a road accident in St. Mary’s, Trinidad, sustaining ankle and knee injuries.

Domestic Career:

• 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.
• 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”.
• On 30 August 2020, in the CPL fixture against the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, Pooran scored his first century in a T20 match.

IPL 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 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 INR 4.2 crore ($590,000).
• 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.
• However, he scored only 85 runs in IPL 2021.
• In the 2022 IPL Auction, Pooran was bought by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for INR 10.75 crores.
• He was 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

• Twenty20 International (T20I) debut: for the West Indies against Pakistan on 23 September 2016
• ODI debut: for the West Indies against England on 20 February 2019
• 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.
• 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 eventually ruled out of the T20I series, Pooran captained the West Indies for the first time in T20Is.
• Pooran led the Windies to a 4–1 win over Australia in 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.

Major Achievements

• In May 2022, Pooran was named as the captain of the West Indies team for limited overs cricket.
• In November 2022, he stepped down as the limited overs captain of the West Indies team.
• Nicholas Pooran played 29 T10 matches and scored 953 runs in 28 Innings.
• Nicholas Pooran’s Highest Score in T10 is 101.
• Nicholas Pooran has 1 T10 centuries, 7 T10 half centuries.
• 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.
• 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 30 August 2020, in the CPL fixture against the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, Pooran scored his first century in a T20 match.
• During the series against India, Pooran was the highest run scorer in the T20I series. He scored 184 runs including three half centuries, highest score of 62.