West Indies star Nicholas Pooran has withdrawn from Sunday’s Big Bash League (BBL) draft.
Pooran is one of the most devastating batters in world cricket nowadays. He is small in stature but punches a big blow as most of his maximums clear the boundary ropes with relative ease and even sail into the top tier at the cricket grounds much to the delight of the supporters.
Pooran was expected to be one of the top picks of the draft, having been elevated to Platinum status.
But The West Indies cricketer’s withdrawal, alongside has left BBL fans and team owners puzzled.
While the reasons for their withdrawals remain unclear, it’s been revealed that Pooran is already contracted to a franchise in the UAE’s ILT20 competition.
This competition is scheduled to kick off on January 19, coinciding with the BBL finals, making it impossible for Pooran to participate in the Australian league.
Since giving up the captaincy, the left-handed maestro has been in scintillating form for the majority of 2023. In the Indian Premier League, playing for Lucknow Super Giants, the wicket-keeper batter scored 358 runs in 15 innings with an average of 29. 83 and two half centuries.
Then, he helped his team Mumbai New York lift the inaugural Major League Cricket (MLC) tournament in July. He scored 388 runs in the tournament including one of the most brilliant knocks ever in a T20 final scoring 137 from 55 balls comprising 10 boundaries and a record-breaking 13 maximums.
In the very next tour, he was awarded the Player of the Series trophy in the West Indies’ five-match T20I series win over India that was recently held in the West Indies. He belted 176 runs in five innings at a 35.20 average.
The withdrawal of explosive wicketkeeper-batters has left a void in the BBL draft.
The BBL draft is set to feature 495 players from both the BBL and WBBL, and it will be televised for fans around the world to witness.
The availability of several players has been affected by international commitments.
Meanwhile, the South African T20 competition is set to commence on January 10, and the UAE league further complicates the schedules of many players, resulting in most of them committing to “6-9 games.”
With the draft just around the corner, fans and team owners will be keeping a close eye on the remaining West Indies players listed in the BBL draft.
These players will have the opportunity to make a significant impact on the upcoming season and fill the void left by the withdrawals of Pooran and Rizwan.
West Indies players remaining in the BBL draft:
Fabian Allen, Alick Athanaze, Ronsford Beaton, Joshua Bishop, Nkrumah Bonner, Carlos Brathwaite, Shamarh Brooks, Yannic Cariah, Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Rahkeem Cornwall, Sheldon Cottrell, Dominic Drakes, Andre Fletcher, Matthew Forde, Justin Greaves, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Shai Hope, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Kofi James, Amir Jangoo, Evin Lewis, Kennar Lewis, Jair McAllister, Gudakesh Motie, Ashmead Nedd, Keemo Paul, Kieran Powell, Roshon Primus, Ray Reiror, Sherfane Rutherford, Jayden Seales, Ramon Simmonds, Kevin Sinclair, Shamar Spinror, Oshane Thomas, Chadwick Walton, Hayden Walsh Jr., Kevin Wickham and Nyeem Young.