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Nicholas Pooran story: From wheelchair to kingpin of Kings XI Punjab in IPL 2020

Nicholas Pooran story: From wheelchair to kingpin of Kings XI Punjab in IPL 2020. Pooran made a powerful fifty to guide Kings XI to a facile win over Delhi Capitals.

Nicholas Pooran made a powerful fifty to guide Kings XI to a facile win over Delhi Capitals

Bengaluru, October 21: Nicholas Pooran is the toast of IPL 2020 after playing some lovely innings for Kings XI Punjab, latest being a belligerent fifty against Delhi Capitals in Dubai on Tuesday (October 20). Pooran has also been impressive on the field, taking some stunning catches in the deep.

But each innings of his is a celebration of the West Indian's determination. Five years ago, Pooran could not even walk as he was bound to a wheelchair after a terrible car accident while returning home from a training session.

Pooran was just 20 then and he woke up in the hospital and stared at an uncertain future. Even the doctors could not answer whether the Trinidadian would play cricket ever. But he braved odds and returned the field over a year later.

"They were terrible days. I just lay on my bed or sat on the wheel chair thinking about playing cricket again. But I never really lost my hope, and did my therapy regularly. It was not the most pleasant experience but I did it because I wanted to play cricket all over again," Pooran had told this writer in a chat a couple of years ago.

He did start playing cricket again, and now he is making an impact too. Pooran's batting in the middle-overs - from the 7th to 15th over - in the IPL 2020 has been quite brilliant. The left-hander has made 230 runs, second only to KL Rahul's 241. But Pooran has made those runs at a strike-rate of 182.53 as against his skipper's 133.88. It is the fastest strike-rate in the middle passage of the play in this IPL.

If Kings XI have managed to make a turnaround in the last couple of matches, Pooran too has played a good role in that. But the man himself looks at it in a no-fuss manner, just like his batting.

"My innings was simple. If the ball was in my zone, I tried to strike it as clean as possible. I am a naturally aggressive player. I play on merit. If it's in my zone, I hit it. Simple as that. If it's a match-up, it's a match-up," Pooran told in the post-match presentation.

"I have been working really hard. I have been hitting the ball pretty good. I have been getting starts but I haven't been able to convert those into big scores. Even tonight (against Delhi Capitals), I got a start but couldn't finish the game for the team. That's disappointing for me," he added.

This self-awareness makes Pooran a wonderful player to watch, the timing and clean-striking ability so reminiscent of many of the Caribbean legends. If Pooran continues travelling in the same path, then Pooran can one day stand along with those legends.

Story first published: Wednesday, October 21, 2020, 12:57 [IST]
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