Nicholas Pooran steps down as West Indies white-ball captain following disastrous T20 World Cup 2022 campaign

West Indies wicket-keeper Nicholas Pooran has stepped down as the white-ball format captain of the national team following a dismal T20 World Cup 2022 campaign under his leadership.

The Men in Maroon recorded losses against Scotland and Ireland, which prevented them from qualifying for the Super 12s stages of the tournament in Australia.

Pooran was appointed as the full-time captain of the ODI and T20I sides following Kieron Pollard's retirement in April. He led the side in the white-ball series against India when the all-rounder was injured and then took over the role permanently.

His stint as captain began on a bright note with dominant wins over Bangladesh and the Netherlands initially. However, things took a turn for the worse after Pooran faced successive series defeats against Bangladesh, Pakistan, New Zealand and India in the build-up to the T20 World Cup 2022.

Expressing his thoughts after relinquishing the captaincy post, Pooran said in a statement released by the Cricket West Indies:

“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."

He continued:

"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 was recently released by the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 mini-auction. While he had a relatively good campaign for the Orange Army in the middle order, Pooran's numbers have taken a massive dip ever since taking over as the captain of the national team.

He has failed to amass double figures in five of his last seven T20I matches. The wicket-keeper batter notched three successive fifties in the tour of India as the stand-in captain but has since only recorded one more half-century.

"I look forward to providing my services as a senior player in a supportive role" - Nicholas Pooran

West Indies' next white-ball assignment comes in the form of a tour of South Africa in March of 2023. ODI cricket will take precedence in the coming 12 months due to the 50-over World Cup in India.

The Caribbean side are currently placed eighth in the ODI World Cup Super League. It should be noted that the side have secured automatic qualification for the T20 World Cup 2024 after being named as hosts alongside the USA.

Terming the opportunity to lead the West Indies as an honor, Pooran said:

“This is not me giving up. I remain ambitious and still view the captaincy of West Indies cricket as an honor that is bestowed upon you. There is no doubt I remain fully committed to West Indies cricket and I look forward to providing my services as a senior player in a supportive role."

He continued:

"By stepping down now as the West Indies white ball captain I believe it is in the best interests of the team and for me personally, as I need to concentrate on what I can deliver to the side as a player.

"I desperately want us to be successful and the most value I can give to the team is through fully focusing on the role of consistently scoring runs at crucial times."

All-rounder Rovman Powell, who recently led the Jamaica Tallawahs to the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) title in September has been touted as a potential successor to take over the captaincy reins.

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