Pooran steps down as WI captain

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Cricket West Indies (CWI) confirmed today that Nicholas Pooran has decided to step down as West Indies captain after the team's exit from the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 tournament in Australia.

In the absence of Kieron Pollard last year and earlier this year, Pooran led the West Indies to a T20 International (T20I) Series victory over Australia at home (4-1).

When Pollard stepped down as West Indies Men's White Ball captain in May of this year, he was officially appointed. 

“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,” Pooran said.

Pooran led the team in 17 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and 23 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is), winning series against the Netherlands (ODI 3-0) and Bangladesh (T20I 2-0).

“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" he added.

The West Indies Men’s next white ball series is against South Africa in March 2023 (directly after the two Test Match Series) and consists of three ODIs and three T20Is.