Pooran named new Trinbago Knight Riders captain as he replaces Keiron Pollard for the captain’s role in CPL 2025.
CPL 2025: Pooran replaces Pollard as Trinbago Knight Riders captain.
Prior to the 2025 CPL, Nicholas Pooran was appointed captain of the Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR). He will succeed Kieron Pollard, who has been the team’s leader since taking over from Dwayne Bravo in 2019.
“It means a lot, first and foremost, to represent Trinbago Knight Riders. It is a privilege that I’m getting the opportunity to lead this franchise,” Pooran said. “I want to give it my best shot, and hopefully make as many correct decisions as I can. It’s a responsibility that has been passed on from Bravo to Pollard, and now to me.
“For me, the most satisfying thing is that Pollard is still playing; Sunil [Narine] and Andre [Russell] are here too. That’s a lot of experience I can bank on. To lead them on the field – it means a lot to me.”
One of the most sought-after players on the T20 circuit, Pooran made his T20 debut with TKR, then known as Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel, in the first season of the CPL at the age of 17. Before rejoining TKR in 2022, he played for the Barbados Royals (BR) and Guyana Amazon Warriors.
He has participated in every CPL season to date, with the exception of 2015, when an accident kept him out. Pooran has amassed 2447 runs with a strike rate of 152.27 in 114 games overall in the CPL. He now serves as captain of MI Emirates in the ILT20 and MI New York in the MLC.
“I believe grooming the next generation is very important,” Pollard said. “With Bravo coming on board this year as the new head coach, we felt this is the right time to get a new captain in. Pooran is homegrown, and I think this is the right opportunity for him. We’ve actually been preparing him for this over the years.
“I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be playing for, but I’m happy for the opportunity to still be on the field and help Nicholas ease into this role. He’s someone who we’ve seen grow in front of us and he understands our values and principles. He understands how we want to play cricket, he understands the winning culture that we want to create, and he shares a lot of respect with a lot of players around the world. So for me, it was an easy decision to hand over the captaincy to Pooran.”