Nicolas Pooran

Nicholas Pooran (/ˌpuːrɑːn/; born 2 October 1995) is a Trinidadian cricketer who plays for the West Indies cricket team in international cricket and for the Trinidad and Tobago in West Indian domestic matches.

From McBean, north of Couva, Pooran attended Naparima College in San Fernando, and played for the school's cricket team. A left-handed wicket-keeper/batsman, he represented Trinidad and Tobago at various underage and schoolboys tournaments, and made his national under-19 debut at the 2012 regional tournament, aged only 16.

Pooran debuted for the West Indies under-19s in October 2013, in a bilateral series against the Bangladesh under-19s, and went on to play at the 2014 Under-19 World Cup. The team's vice-captain and primary wicket-keeper, he scored 303 runs from six matches, ranking fourth for total runs and leading the West Indies' averages.

This included half-centuries against Canada and India, and an innings of 143 runs against Australia (from a team total of 208 all out), which was the highest score of the tournament and was subsequently described as "one of the most memorable innings under pressure in the tournament's history". Pooran's innings was the highest ever under-19 ODI score against Australia, and his 136-run ninth-wicket partnership with Barbadian Jerome Jones was a record for all under-19 matches.

Before playing at international under-19 level, Pooran had played four matches for Trinidad and Tobago in the domestic one-day Regional Super50 competition, in February and March 2013.

Prior to the inaugural 2013 CPL season, he was selected in the squad of the Red Steel, Trinidad's CPL franchise, and aged 17, was the youngest player in the competition. On debut against the Guyana Amazon Warriors, he scored 54 from 24 balls, an innings which included six sixes and was noted for its "clean, calm stroke play" and "uninhibited aggression". Pooran's batting was less successful for the remainder of the tournament, and also at the 2013 Champions League, where he represented the Trinidad and Tobago national side rather than the Red Steel franchise.

He again played for the Red Steel during the 2014 CPL season, but is yet to score any further half-centuries. Pooran made his first-class debut for Trinidad and Tobago against the Leeward Islands in November 2014, during the 2014–15 season of the Regional Four Day Competition.

In his second match, against Jamaica, he top-scored with 55 runs in T&T's second innings, before being one of Nikita Miller's seven victims. At club level, Pooran plays for Clarke Road in the Trinidadian leagues.

He also played part of the 2014 season in Ontario, representing the Redemption Sports Club in the Etobicoke & District Cricket League.

In January 2015, Pooran was involved in a road accident in St. Mary's, Trinidad, sustaining ankle and knee injuries. He was ruled out for both the remainder of Trinidad and Tobago's domestic season and the 2015 Caribbean Premier League.

In June 2018, he was named in the Cricket West Indies B Team squad for the inaugural edition of the Global T20 Canada tournament. In July 2020, he was named in the Guyana Amazon Warriors squad for the 2020 Caribbean Premier League.

In February 2017, he was bought by the Mumbai Indians team for the 2017 Indian Premier League for 30 lakhs.

Pooran Played for Islamabad United in 2017 Pakistan Super League as he was drafted inas a replacement of England's Ben Duckett in United's squad. He joined the team ahead of play-offs. He made his debut against Karachi Kings.

In October 2018, he was named in the squad for the Sylhet Sixers team, following the draft for the 2018–19 Bangladesh Premier League. He was the leading run-scorer for the team in the tournament, with 379 runs in eleven matches. In December 2018, he was bought by the Kings XI Punjab in the player auction for the 2019 Indian Premier League for 4.2 crore.

He made his Twenty20 International (T20I) debut for the West Indies against Pakistan on 23 September 2016.

His first 50 in T20I came against India in the T20I series against India in India. He scored an unbeaten 53 in the first Innings in 25 balls.

In February 2019, he was named in the West Indies' One Day International (ODI) for their series against England. He made his ODI debut for the West Indies against England on 20 February 2019. In April 2019, he was named in the West Indies' squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup. On 1 July 2019, in the match against Sri Lanka, Pooran scored his first century in ODIs. He finished the tournament as the leading run-scorer for the West Indies, with 367 runs in nine matches. Following the World Cup, the International Cricket Council (ICC) named Pooran as the rising star of the squad. In July 2019, Cricket West Indies awarded him with a central contract for the first time, ahead of the 2019–20 season.

In November 2019, during the third ODI against Afghanistan, Pooran was found guilty of ball tampering. Pooran admitted the charge, and was banned for four T20I matches.