"I'm not surprised" - West Indies' World Cup-winning captain makes stunning remark on Nicholas Pooran's early retirement
West Indies' head coach Darren Sammy bluntly said Nicholas Pooran's shock retirement does not surprise him and he doesn't control anybody's careers. Sammy, who is a two-time T20 World Cup-winning captain, also revealed that his instincts told him something similar would happen.
The 29-year-old's international retirement shocked the cricketing fraternity, having established himself as one of the cleanest strikers of the ball. Pooran featured in 161 internationals for the West Indies, including in a couple of T20 World Cups. Having featured in his final international game in December 2024, the keeper-batter has opted to play only franchise cricket.
Speaking on Wednesday to reporters, the 41-year-old claimed that he is thankful for Pooran for letting him know about his plans well in advance. Sammy said, as quoted by ESPN Cricinfo:
"No, I'm not surprised. 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. It is [about] trying to move on now from planning a gameplan without Nicholas Pooran. With a World Cup coming ahead, I respect the fact that he told us early enough so we have more time to plan without him."
The Trinidadian also had an outstanding season for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in IPL 2025. Although the Super Giants failed to reach the playoffs, the southpaw hammered 524 runs in 14 matches at 43.66 alongside a strike rate of 196.25.
"I did have a conversation with his agent" - Darren Sammy on Nicholas Pooran ahead of the England tour
Sammy refused to reveal the answer he received from Pooran's agent ahead of the limited-overs tour of England but said he was preparing for the worst-case scenario. He added:
"My instincts told me something like that would happen. Nicholas sent me a text message, and so I did have a conversation with his agent as well… When we first spoke about the UK tour and the conversation I had with him, I did ask him, 'Are you unavailable for the UK tour only, or indefinite?' And from that response, I just knew I had to start preparing for the worst case."
The West Indian will captain MI New York in the upcoming edition of the Major League Cricket (MLC).