Former West Indies captain Kieron Pollard has retired and Nicholas Pooran has been appointed as the new captain. The CWI confirmed this by issuing a special statement. Accordingly, Nicholas Pooran will be the new captain of both the International Twenty20 and ODI.
Former West Indies and TT manager Omar Khan and Trinidad and Tobago Red Force coach David Furlonge shared their views on Pooran’s appointment in an interview with Newsday.
Mr. Khan said he was a natural leader and had the desire and the power to do well.
“He has been moulded as a future West Indies captain when he was appointed vice-captain of the team. He strongly led Guyana Amazon Warriors in the CPL last year and was very instrumental in the performances of the team. Nicholas is a natural leader and has the passion and power to do well.”
During the discussion, Khan spoke about the challenges facing Pooran.
“The players must always give 100 percent effort. In white-ball cricket, you have to be smart, assess situations quickly and be able to adjust. He has a lot of experience in franchise cricket around the world with senior players, so he just needs to apply what he learned.”
former manager said he has senior players like Jason Holder and Shai Hope coach Phil Simmons to advise him. He also said that he had been sent a message of full support after the pooran’s appointment
further he said he sees pooran as a long-term leader.
“Since he already has a secured place on the team, he can definitely be the long-term captain. His captaincy will only be questioned and possibly revoked if West Indies lose many matches under his leadership. I’ve seen him grow and develop into a real professional, he has matured and is very keen to take over as captain. He sees it as an honour so he will take it seriously and work with whatever players he has and try to get the best results for the team.”
Also, Red force coach David has high hopes for the new captain. There he talked about what he could bring to the team as a young leader. Also, Pooran may not be aggressive as Pollard. But David believes that his discipline and style will be motivating and encouraging.
coach Furlonge believes he can reach the finals of both the next two World Cups.
“He’ll need more time. He has a group of young players who have been gelling and he will need time to cement his style and leadership on the team to be competitive. It’s possible that he can have his team ready for the ICC World Cup next year but the T20 World Cup may be too soon for him.”
Commenting on Pooran’s contribution to the field, both Florang and Khan thought that batting should be done at number four or five in ODIs and number three or four in T20I.