Pooran Announces Shock International Retirement at 29

Just days after South African explosive batter Heinrich Klaasen retired from international cricket at 33, former West Indies T20 captain Nicholas Pooran has also announced his retirement from international cricket.

On Tuesday (June 9), Pooran surprised everyone by declaring his retirement from international cricket at the age of just 29. Pooran had delivered a series of explosive innings for Lucknow Super Giants in the recently concluded IPL. He described the decision to retire from international cricket as "difficult."

The Trinidadian-born wicketkeeper announced his retirement via a note on Instagram. He wrote: "To the cricket-loving public:

"After much contemplation and self-reflection, I'm announcing my retirement from international cricket. This game, which we love so much, has given me so much—joy, purpose, indelible memories, and the opportunity to represent the people of the Caribbean. Wearing that maroon jersey, standing during the national anthem, and trying my best every time I stepped onto the field—these experiences are truly hard to put into words."

The hard-hitting batter debuted for the West Indies in 2016. He is the team's highest run-scorer and has played the most matches (106) for them in T20Is. He has scored 2275 runs in just 97 innings.

Pooran also holds the record for the most sixes (149) for West Indies in T20Is, which is the fifth-highest in international cricket overall.

Pooran, who has scored over 4,000 runs in international cricket, captained the West Indies in 17 ODIs and 23 T20Is in 2021-22.

The day before announcing his retirement, Pooran had requested the West Indies Cricket Board not to consider him for their upcoming white-ball tour of England.

His decision comes just eight months before the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, marking a significant blow for the Caribbean side. 

The hard-hitter had been in superb form recently, smashing a maximum of 40 sixes in this year's IPL.

In T20 cricket, he ranks behind only Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, and Andre Russell in terms of sixes, having hit 639 sixes in 398 matches to date.