Nicholas Pooran

Nicholas Pooran player profile

Nicholas Pooran confirmed his status as one of the most exciting young batting talents in the modern game with a sublime innings of 118 off 103 in West Indies' defeat to Sri Lanka at the 2019 World Cup, but only four years earlier the idea that he would play international cricket seemed fanciful.

A year after finishing as the fourth-highest run-scorer at the U-19 World Cup in early 2014, Pooran was involved in a serious car accident which left him with a torn patella tendon, fractured tibia and fractured ankle. After a long recovery process, he was handy a substantial contract for Barbados Tridents in the 2016 CPL on Kieron Pollard's recommendation. Unsure whether his body would continue to hold up, Pooran looked to maximise his earnings by playing in every franchise league he could including the BPL, the PSL, the Hong Kong Blitz, the T10 and for West Indies B in the Global T20 Canada. His first BPL deal, in 2016-17, earned him a ban from the WICB, who were displeased at his decision not to play regional cricket instead.

His international breakthrough came in late 2018, when he hit his first half-century for West Indies off just 24 balls against India in Chennai. From there, he was parachuted into the World Cup squad, and given an opportunity as West Indies' No. 4 despite limited experience in 50-over cricket. He hit fifties against England and Afghanistan, plus a thrilling hundred against Sri Lanka, and finished the tournament with an average of 52.47 and a strike rate of 100.

After an underwhelming first season for Kings XI Punjab in the IPL - he was previously picked up by Mumbai Indians in 2017 but did not play a game - he enjoyed a stellar 2020 season in the UAE, making 353 runs at a strike rate of 170, demonstrating his ability to dominate against spin and also pulling off a remarkable boundary save in the deep. He had come into the season off the back of a maiden T20 hundred for Guyana Amazon Warriors in the CPL, and followed it by playing his first first-class games in over six years for West Indies A in New Zealand.

ESPNcricinfo staff

Nicholas Pooran IPL factfile

- An explosive left-handed batter, Nicholas Pooran made his IPL debut after being picked by Punjab Kings (PBKS) for INR 4.2 crore in 2019.

- Pooran showed glimpses of his talent in his first season, scoring 168 runs from seven games at a strike rate of 157. He went even better in the next season as he made 353 runs in 14 games at 169.71.

- He was released by PBKS after a poor season in 2021, when he could only score 85 runs in 12 matches. Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) then acquired him for INR 10.75 crore in the IPL 2022 mega auction.

- Pooran crossed the 300-run mark for the second time in his IPL career in 2022, but was released by SRH and sparked a bidding war at the following auction, attracting interest from CSK, RR and DC, but was eventually snapped up for a whopping INR 16 crore by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).

- He made an instant impact for LSG, blazing 358 runs at a remarkable strike rate of 172.95 in 2023, helping the team make the playoffs.