Nicholas Pooran is excited to be the protagonist of the start of a new era in West Indies cricket, as he overtakes the white-ball captaincy officially on May 31 with the first of the three ICC Super League ODIs against the Netherlands in Amsterdam.
Pooran succeeds veteran allrounder Kieron Pollard at the helm after the latter’s decision to retire from international cricket earlier in May. The left-hand batter was a deputy to Pollard and stood up in his absence for two ODIs and eight T20Is.
Apart from that, his only source of captaincy experience has been a stint as leader for the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League.
While he knows nothing would’ve prepared him for captaincy at the international stage, Pooran said he is looking forward to the challenge and will be doing things in his own, “instinctive” way.
“I’ll try my best to lead from the front. I want to talk the talk and walk the walk. I’m very instinctive. On the field, I like to make decisions on how I feel. My teammates know I’m very instinctive when I’m batting as well. As a captain, I want to approach it in the same way.”
“[I want to] live in the present, try to be the best version of myself, try to be the best leader I can be. It’s as simple as that,”
he said during a virtual press conference, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
Pooran, who will be embracing the national duties after a super quick turnaround following the Indian Premier League 2022 for Sunrisers Hyderabad, will have his challenge toughened up by the fact that he will be leading a West Indies side light on experience.
With Pollard gone, and allrounder Jason Holder rested, Pooran will have to make do with a young squad for this and the Pakistan series that follows. West Indies’ chances of the direct qualification towards the 2023 World Cup in India hang on a thin rope.
Standing tenth in the standings after just five wins from their previous 15 matches, the Calypso Kings could ill-afford hiccups in their remaining Super League series.
