Leading West Indies batter retires from international cricket

Nicholas Pooran, West Indies highest ranked batter in the T20I Batting Rankings, has announced his international retirement.

The Trinidadian represented the West Indies 167 times for West Indies, scoring 1983 ODI runs at 39.66 at a strike rate of 99.15, and 2275 T20I runs, the most by a West Indies player, at a strike rate of 136.39.

Touted as a prospect in his teens, Pooran represented the West Indies at the 2014 U19 Men's Cricket World Cup, before making his senior international debut two years later in a T20I against Pakistan.

An ODI debut in 2018 followed, and the left-hander was named in the West Indies Cricket World Cup 2019 squad.

He was named vice-captain for the Caribbean side for the 2021 Men's T20 World Cup, and took the captaincy reins in both white-ball formats across a six-month period in 2022, which included the team's Men's T20 World Cup campaign.

Cricket West Indies thanked Pooran for his service in a statement on Monday.

"We salute his achievements and thank him for the moments he has given fans across the region and beyond," the statement read.

"We wish him all the very best in the next phase of his journey."

Pooran bows out as the most capped West Indies player in T20Is (106 matches) and highest run-scorer for his team in the format (2275), having overtaken Chris Gayle at the 2024 T20 World Cup.

He last played for the West Indies in December 2024.