Nicholas Pooran steps down as West Indies white-ball captaincy

Bengaluru, Nov. 21: Following their dismal show at the recently-concluded ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, Nicholas Pooran announced his decision to step down as captain of the West Indies white-ball team.

In the World Cup, Windies endured an embarrassing exit, as they failed to make it to the Super 12 stage. The Caribbean nation, who were the only team to have won two T20 World Cup titles before champions England joined them with their second T20 title, suffered a group stage exit.

The T20 giants fell to stunning losses against Scotland and Ireland to crash out of the World Cup. Pooran, who had taken over the reigns from Kieron Pollard after his retirement in May this year, stepped down on Monday (Nov. 21). Failing to turn around the struggling team's fortunes, the team finished last on the Group B table.

Announcing his decision, Pooran in a statement released by Cricket West Indies, said, "I have given the captaincy a great deal of thought since the enormous disappointment of the T20 World Cup. I took on the role with great pride and dedication and have given it absolutely everything over the past year.

"The T20 World Cup is something that must not define us and I will readily get involved in the upcoming reviews. And whilst it will be several months until we reconvene as a squad, I want to give CWI plenty of time to prepare for the matches against South Africa in March and beyond."

Pooran stepping down is a step towards a complete revamp of the Windies white-ball set-up. After stepping down as captain, Pooran in his statement released by CWI, went on to thank the board and his team and fans. "I am very thankful to CWI for the opportunity and the faith shown in me, and for the support that I have received by our devoted fans since taking the role, and to my teammates who have worked so hard as well. I know we have it in us to carry West Indies cricket forward and be proud," signed off Pooran.

Thanking Pooran, CWI Director of Cricket, Jimmy Adams said, "On behalf of CWI I want to thank Nicholas for his time leading our white ball teams. Having spoken with him I know he remains fully committed to West Indies cricket and I am convinced he has a big role to play in our future."

While the Windies will be heading to Australia for the Test series in December, there next white-ball series will be the three-match ODI series in March, followed by the T20I series in South Africa.