West Indies cricket team head coach Darren Sammy revealed that he wasn’t surprised by Nicholas Pooran’s decision to retire from international cricket. The 28-year-old Caribbean power-hitter took the world by surprise by announcing his retirement abruptly last week. Sammy reckons that more West Indies players could soon be toeing Pooran’s line.
More WI players to follow Pooran’s footsteps?
As per The Gleaner, Sammy said that he won’t be surprised if more players follow Pooran’s footsteps in the future. He explained that that was how T20 cricket was at the moment, adding that the West Indies Cricket Board was doing much to motivate the players to play for the country.
“I’m pretty sure more will follow in that mode, in that direction. That’s the way T20 cricket is now, and especially coming from the West Indies, with the challenges that we face trying to keep our players motivated to play for the crest, so I wouldn’t be surprised,” Sammy said.
Sammy revealed that he had gotten a hint of Pooran’s decision when he had sought an answer for his availability for the tour to the UK. The Windies coach said that while he would ideally want a talent like Pooran in the team, he wasn’t in a position to control anyone’s career.
“Ideally, a talent like that, I would love to have him in the team, but I don’t control nor could I control anybody’s careers … I wished him well, he wished the team well,” Sammy added.
Pooran’s decision to retire comes when he is arguably in the form of his life in franchise T20 leagues. In 2023 alone, he hit the most sixes in T20s globally—170, a feat only a few can think of. In IPL 2025, he finally breached the 500-run barrier in a single season, finishing with 511 runs at a strike rate of 178.21 for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). His 40 sixes in the tournament were the most by any batter this year as well.
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