EARN YOUR WAY BACK!

FORMER West Indies and Jamaica bowlers Daren Powell and Nehemiah Perry say Cricket West Indies (CWI) must reach a suitable agreement with Trinidadian batter Nicholas Pooran should he decide to return to international cricket. Pooran has seemingly softened his stance to play for the West Indies again after his decision to retire last year at age 29. The power-hitting left-hander, who made over 160 appearances for the Windies between 2016 and 2024, didn’t give reasons when he announced his decision in June 2025 but opted to focus on global franchise cricket, including the Indian Premier League and the Caribbean Premier League. However, on the opening day of his “Nicky P” Batting Academy in Trinidad last Saturday, Pooran, a former T20 captain said, “I’ve never shut that door completely. Time changes fast. I don’t know what the future holds.”

West Indies’ Nicholas Pooran hits a six during the 2019 Cricket World Cup group stage match against Sri Lanka. (Photo: AFP)

Powell, who picked up 156 wickets in 92 caps for the Windies, says Pooran needed time off to realise his worth to the Caribbean team. “He probably heard the cry of the people on wanting to see more of him in West Indies colours and he had thought about it, probably fleshed out what the problem was and came to this consensus that he potentially wants to represent West Indies again,” Powell told the Jamaica Observer. “When you look at what has happened in the last few weeks, there is a pay cut which is going around for the players and if he is making his intention clear to come back as a West Indies player, it has nothing to do with salary. It has something to do more with the love of cricket and him wanting to represent the West Indies.

POWELL...when you look around the region, we don’t have that X-factor like Pooran.

“I don’t think that Pooran has any stripes to earn. When you look around the region, we don’t have that X-factor like Pooran. He’s competing against nobody to get into our city’s team. We have good talent, yes, but good talent alone can’t bring success in sport. Pooran has proven himself in the region that he is not any ordinary cricketer, he is somebody who is way above the rest.” Recently, CWI President Kishore Shallow told the Super Over podcast that he had conversations with Pooran before he announced his retirement and said, “You just have to accept the direction people want to take.” With the ICC T20 World Cup two years away, Perry, who played 25 times for the Windies, says CWI needs to have a serious meeting with Pooran before potentially bringing him back into the fold. “At the end of the day you don’t want a man to have West Indies cricket as a patty shop where you hop in and out and can do anything you want. You need to make a commitment and if the commitment is to represent your region at the highest order and perform, then we don’t have a problem with that,” Perry told the Observer. “At the end of the day, if a man wants to apologise to the public, then he just apologises and says he made a mistake and he misses the game, he misses the camaraderie with his teammates, and he misses the competitiveness of the cricket and wants to see if he can win a World Cup for us, then fine, I don’t have a problem with that. We have to develop that sort of culture that you have to be committed to our cause — and when I say ‘our,’ I mean West Indies.”

PERRY...at the end of the day you don’t want a man to have West Indies cricket as a patty shop where you hop in and out and can do anything you want.

Powell shared similar sentiments, that Pooran could help generate more revenue for CWI, which is facing financial challenges. However, he says a proper agreement must be reached to avoid future complications. “I am not saying that they should accept him with open arms,” Powell said. “They have to have a good agreement. Not just take him and just say come play because you’re going to the World Cup and we’re going to need you. Don’t come and play because we need sponsorship and the sponsors need you. If that is the situation and that’s the agreement, he’s going to go back to square one, he’s going to pack up and leave when he wants to leave. “He is a star player; West Indies need him, we need him, but it should not be a case you just walk in. There has to be some rules of engagement and some way in which no parties will be uncomfortable when he returns or is at a disadvantage to the other. It should be a mutual agreement with every other player, if anything should happen, it’s the same rules and regulations for the rest of the players.” Perry says Pooran, the West Indies’ second-highest run-scorer in T20 internationals with 2,275 runs, must be fully committed if he decides to return to the team. “He has to have that discussion with whoever — whether it’s the coach, the president, vice president or whoever the hierarchy of CWI designates to have that discussion with him and set some parameters and some conditions. And they need to say if you are not on the same page then we’ll do without you because cricket will always be here,” he said. “We are not bigger than the game, we have to show that respect for the game itself because persons were before you and persons will be after you. So, it is imperative that we have that sit down and then we can shake hands and then we chart our way forward as a body.”