Nicholas Pooran named West Indies white-ball captain

St. John's (Antigua & Barbuda), May 3

Cricket West Indies (CWI) confirmed on Tuesday the appointment of Nicholas Pooran as the West Indies men's One-Day International (ODI) and T20 International (T20I) captain, following the international retirement of Kieron Pollard.

The appointment will include the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in 2022 and the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in October 2023. Shai Hope has been named as vice-captain of the ODI team.

Pooran will take over the captaincy for the West Indies ODI and T20I teams after being Pollard's deputy over the last year.

Giving the information about Pooran's appointment, CWI's Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams said, "We believe Nicholas is ready for the challenge of leading our white-ball teams given his experience, performances, and the respect he has within the playing group. The experience he has gathered playing in various franchise leagues around the world was also a factor in the decision to recommend him for the T20 Captaincy."

The 26-year-old Pooran expressed his delight in his appointment, "I am truly honoured to be appointed captain of the West Indies team. I am following in the footsteps of several giants of the game who have created an amazing legacy for West Indies cricket. To be named captain is indeed the highlight of my career so far and I want to drive the team forward to accomplish great things on the field for our fans and loyal supporters."

Pooran's first outing as captain will be the three away ODIs against The Netherlands in Amstelveen starting May 31 which form part of the ICC World Cup Super League. He has already captained the West Indies in Pollard's absence, leading them to a CG Insurance T20I Series win at home against Australia in 2021.

The left-handed wicketkeeper batter has eight half-centuries and an ODI century to his name. He has also scored eight T20I half-centuries for the West Indies Senior Men's team. He first burst onto the cricket scene representing the West Indies Under-19 team at the 2014 ICC Men's U19 World Cup, smashing 303 runs from six matches.