"From that response..."- West Indies coach Daren Sammy drops shocking statement on Nicholas Pooran's retirement

Daren Sammy had a conversation with Nicholas Pooran ahead of the England tour.

The West Indies’ head coach Daren Sammy made a massive revelation about Nicholas Pooran’s retirement, saying that he had an idea about it. The left-handed batsman called time on his international career on June 10, leaving the entire cricket fraternity shocked with his decision at the age of just 29 years.

Although Nicholas Pooran never played a test match, he was a powerful batter in the white-ball formats for the West Indies. He ended his career as the leading run-getter for the Caribbean team in the shortest format, scoring 2275 runs in 106 matches. In ODIs, he piled up 1983 runs in 61 matches. He also holds the record for playing the most T20I games (106) for the West Indies.

The wicket-keeper batter announced his retirement decision with a heart-warming post on Instagram. He said that it was a tough decision for him and thanked his fans for the support over the years.

My instincts told me something like that would happen: Daren Sammy on Nicholas Pooran’s retirement

During a conversation with ESPNCricinfo, the West Indies head coach Darren Sammy informed that he had a chat with Pooran ahead of the England tour. After the conversation, he got an idea of his possible retirement plans.

“My instincts told me something like that would happen. Nicholas sent me a text message, and so did I 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,” Sammy said.

The former West Indies captain also added that he wanted a talent like Pooran in the white-ball team. However, he will now focus on forming a strong team without him for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026.

“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. It is [about] trying to move on now from planning a game plan 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 41-year-old further added.

Meanwhile, Pooran will continue to play in franchise cricket and is very active in various T20 leagues of different countries. He recently was part of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. With 524 runs in 14 games, including five half-centuries, he finished as the second-highest run-scorer for his team.

For more updates, follow Khel Now Cricket on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.