Mumbai Indians Appoint Retired West Indies Star Nicholas Pooran as Captain

West Indies star batsman Nicholas Pooran announced his retirement from international cricket on Tuesday.

West Indies star batsman Nicholas Pooran surprised everyone by announcing his retirement from international cricket on June 10, 2025, at the young age of 29. This was despite a stellar performance in IPL 2025 by the left-handed batsman. Less than 24 hours after his retirement announcement, he was appointed captain of the Mumbai Indians New York franchise for the MLC 2025. It is believed that Pooran will now only play league cricket.

Retirement from International Cricket Due to League Cricket!

The reason behind Nicholas Pooran's disillusionment with the national team is believed to be the significantly higher earnings in league cricket. If he had continued playing for the West Indies team for the next 10 years, he would have earned approximately ₹20 crore (₹2 crore per year). However, he earned ₹21 crore in just two months playing in the recently concluded IPL 2025. Speculation is rife that Pooran's retirement from international cricket is directly linked to the lure of league cricket.

Nicholas Pooran's International Cricket Career

Nicholas Pooran made his T20 International debut for the West Indies against Pakistan in 2016. Three years later, he made his One Day International debut against England. In May 2022, he was appointed the Windies' white-ball captain. However, he relinquished the captaincy after their loss in the T20 World Cup in Australia. He scored over 4000 runs in 61 T20 Internationals and 106 One Day Internationals.

MI New York Team for MLC 2025

Nicholas Pooran (captain), Quinton de Kock, Michael Bracewell, Kieron Pollard, Trent Boult, Rashid Khan, Monank Patel, Nkosinathi Kenjige, Heath Richards, Ahsan Adil, Sunny Patel, Rushil Ugarakar, George Linde, Naveen-ul-Haq, Azmatullah Omarzai, Kunwarjeet Singh, Sharad Lumbaa, Agni Chopra and Tejinder Singh.