Sammy weighs in on Pooran’s shock retirement saying ‘More players will follow’ due to lack of motivation for crest.
West Indies head coach Daren Sammy weighs in after the news of Nicholas Pooran’s shock international retirement.
Despite his prediction that more players will follow in Nicholas Pooran’s footsteps, Sammy feels that his challenge to “keep our players motivated to play for the crest” is highlighted by Pooran’s unexpected withdrawal from international cricket.
On Monday, Pooran, who is only 29 years old, revealed his intention to leave the international game. His last ODI was two years ago, and he has never participated in a Test match. However, Pooran is the all-time greatest run scorer for the West Indies in Twenty20 Internationals. His retirement, which came eight months before a T20 World Cup, surprised many, in part because he already earns a lot of money in the franchise circuit.
Sammy, who captained the West Indies to the T20 World Cups in 2012 and 2016, claimed that even before he made his choice public, he had begun making plans for life after Pooran.
“My instincts told me something like that would happen,” Sammy said on Tuesday night
“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.
“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… I wished him well, he wished the team well. It is [about] trying to move on now from planning a gameplan 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.”