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Nicholas Pooran has stepped down from T20I and ODI captaincy after West Indies' shocking exit from T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia as they failed to qualify for the Super 12 stage. West Indies lost to Scotland and Ireland in group clashes. Pooran was unimpressive with the bat and contributed to West Indies' many collapses in the tournament.
Here’s Pooran’s full statement -
I have given the captaincy a great deal of thought since the enormous disappointment of the T20 World Cup. I took on the role with great pride and dedication and have given it absolutely everything over the past year. The T20 World Cup is something that must not define us and I will readily get involved in the upcoming reviews. And whilst it will be several months until we reconvene as a squad, I want to give CWI plenty of time to prepare for the matches against South Africa in March and beyond.
This is not me giving up. I remain ambitious and still view the captaincy of West Indies cricket as an honour that is bestowed upon you. There is no doubt I remain fully committed to West Indies cricket and I look forward to providing my services as a senior player in a supportive role. By stepping down now as the West Indies white ball captain I believe it is in the best interests of the team and for me personally, as I need to concentrate on what I can deliver to the side as a player. I desperately want us to be successful and the most value I can give to the team is through fully focusing on the role of consistently scoring runs at crucial times.
I am very thankful to CWI for the opportunity and faith shown in me and for the support that I have received by our devoted fans since taking the role, and to my teammates who have worked so hard as well. I know we have it in us to carry West Indies cricket forward and be proud.
Pooran’s captaincy record
Pooran took over the captaincy after Kieron Pollard announced his retirement from international cricket earlier this year. Pooran captained West Indies in 23 T20Is and 17 ODIs. In the One-Day format, he could lead West Indies to just four wins whereas 13 resulted in losses. His record was slightly better in T20Is with eight wins from 23 games.
Who’s next?
Rovman Powell is likely to take over captaincy after Pooran. He led West Indies to a win in Pooran's absence earlier this year. In ODIs he led the Caribbean side in three ODIs in 2018. Only one of them resulted in a win.
