The Nicholas Pooran Evident in IPL is a Complete Contrast to What He's For The West Indies!
Pooran smashed 62 off 19 [iplt20.com]
Few cricketers have actually undergone as much scrutiny in the last twelve months as Nicholas Pooran.
Pooran's been hounded for his batting, which though possesses the blazing ability to score freely, is by and large, devoid of the crucial element of consistency.
Moreover, Pooran's leadership of the West Indies side, or the lack of it, came under intense scrutiny by those who run the sport in the Caribbean.
One day, he was the West Indies captain in both white-ball formats and then not long after disastrous results for his side, he abdicated the captaincy.
Did he even quit the leadership on his own or was asked to make way- we shall never know.
For silent are the ways in which the game takes shape and often is that the case.
If you were someone who had observed West Indies cricket closely, you'd have realized that little was going his side anyway given he'd witnessed the white ball unit's decline as evident in the series against Bangladesh and New Zealand in 2022 (ODI's) and before that, the harrowing series loss to Pakistan away from the Caribbean.
A player blessed with immense talent
But then Nicholas Pooran is that sort of batsman with whom you attach incredible hopes, only to see them come to fruition with the way he scores rapidly before you abandon all hopes whatsoever given he just throws it away.
Pooran's rapidity at scoring and the suddenness of him losing the plot, as also seen in South Africa most recently, show both- just how good a batsman he is and just how he self capitulates.
And while the ODI strike rate of 96 is rather incredible, what isn't is that despite playing 54 ODI's for the West Indies, he's not even touched the average of 40, when a player of his caliber can go such a long way.
Does it show just how much work the young man has to do in his game?
Before the lambasting of the IPL bowlers, evident at present, came about, here's what Nicholas Pooran did in two ODI's in South Africa, which may hold the key to where the big weakness in his game lurks.
Scoring 39 apiece at both East London and Potchefstroom, Pooran immediately burst out onto the middle, scoring runs freely putting all that dash of elegance and power into play.
The runs were coming. The run rate was way better than a run a ball. What would most batters who, endeavour to go the long way, do?
Simply exercise some caution. That's not happening on Pooran's watch.
Just as the innings matured into the middle overs with Hope holding an end at East London's 2nd ODI, Pooran blasted into a stroke off a short ball by Coetzee, ending up at short mid wicket in Van der Dussen's hands.
Surely cricket isn't about scaling personal milestones but with a bit more caution, Pooran could have done both- scored his fifty and taken the already blooming stand with Hope to even greater heights.
In the next ODI, having done pretty much the same thanks to hitting soon as he arrived and also with well timed strokes, Pooran went for another big swipe and ended up being caught out.
He was perfectly aware that Hope had had an off day with the bat and Powell had only just departed. As the man more experienced than Kyle Mayers and Brandon King, it was his job to stay put and reconsider his approach.
Perhaps tweak it out a bit. But he went for the other boisterous option.
Now while modern cricket does run after those who go big with the bat, it could be argued that those who attain the big heights also apply a degree of restraint.
Has Nicholas Pooran thought about that?
Even the mighty Chris Gayle, who's renowned for hitting sixes for fun, had to stay put for 437 deliveries for his 333.
And if that's not a case in point, then it ought to be remembered that during the swansong period of his career, circa 2004, the great Brian Lara, also Pooran's compatriot, battled his way for 582 odd deliveries to score Test cricket's 400th run.
If today's cricketing culture is about scoring quickfire fifties and blindingly fast hundreds, then perhaps that sort of approach augurs well for T20 leagues, where individual ability is immediately forgotten after a series' completion.
The Chris Lynn's have taken the approach. The Tim David's and Andre Russell's have ploughed down that path but perhaps in the knowledge that national duties may not feature on the horizon.
But they talk about you long after a series is over when you perform for national duties.
There's no doubt that what Pooran did in the 2019 men's ODI world cup against Sri Lanka, notching up his century long after the biggies had departed, is what he can do today.
He hung in there. He planned his innings.
It's something he ought to have done on more occasions since the last world cup.
At 27, you can still make adjustments to your game and work out the weaknesses way better than you can at 34 or after.
That Pooran has the talent and age on his side should compel him to do so.
He's got so much to offer to the West Indies who need him as much as he does.
The fastest fifty of the 2023 IPL, scored by him off just 15 deliveries is surely intoxicating and must be hailed.
It's exceptional.
But Pooran, one reckons, will be hailed more when he makes it his responsibility to score just as profusely for his West Indies, albeit by exercising some restraint.
.jpg "Halla Bol!")
 "Dev Tyagi")
