On hearing the announcement, T&T’s Nicholas Pooran was named Captain of the West Indies T20 and the One-Day International Team, there was much jubilation amongst many sportswriters and journalists.
But, for me, I think the West Indies selection panel missed the boat once again, and that decision could backfire on young Pooran.
Let me make it quite clear. I support one hundred percent Pooran’s appointment as West Indies T-20 Captain, but I think the One-Day captaincy will be a tremendous burden on his shoulders. I believe the West Indies’ unwritten policy in the past of pigeon holding players as T20 cricketers has brought us to this juncture in our cricket. You see, we have brought Pooran up on the diet of T20 cricket, which is a natural fit for him, but his lack of Four-Day Regional matches and Test Cricket will be a huge void in his One-Day captaincy.
I recall the legendary West Indies fast bowler Andy Roberts saying to us during the Allen Stanford tournament, that once one is a cricketer, he or she can play any format of the game. Of course, some players may prefer one format over the other, but the fact remains “a cricketer is a cricketer”.
Coming back to Pooran, the talented stroke player should have been spared this unwarranted burden.
We all saw what became of Kieron Pollard, who was never given the opportunity to play Test Cricket. The One-Day format is similar to that of a Test Match and the experience gained at playing Four-day regional matches and Test Cricket would have assisted Pooran immensely in his new role. Sadly though, this is not the case and as a result, the West Indies selection panel should have gone about their task differently by selecting three separated captains.
Kraigg Brathwaite is already in charge of the West Indies Test squad, Nicholas Pooran, the T20 team, and Shai Hope or Shimron Hetmyer, the one-day international captain.
The question remains, why place this unnecessary burden on Nicholas Pooran, one of the world’s most exciting stroke players? Only the West Indies selection panel can answer this question.
