Nicholas Pooran adds to list of shocking retirements in 2025, calls time on international career at 29

West Indies leading run-scorer Nicholas Pooran has announced his retirement from international cricket with immediate effect in a shocking announcement on Tuesday (June 10). Pooran, who made his debut for the West Indies in 2016, is the side’s highest scorer in T20Is ahead of legendary Chris Gayle. His retirement adds to the list of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who had earlier announced their retirements from Test cricket for India.

Pooran calls time on international career

“After much thought and reflection, I’ve decided to announce my retirement from international cricket,” a statement released by the 29-year-old on his Instagram account read.

Pooran’s retirement comes as a huge shock for the cricket fraternity as he still had more to offer for the national side. At 29, he could have served the national team for at least 4-5 years, however, that won’t be the case unless a dramatic U-turn is taken.

At the time of his retirement, Pooran has scored 2275 runs in 106 T20Is and is the most capped player in the format for West Indies. In ODIs he has represented in 61 matches, having scored 1983 runs.

Pooran was also West Indies captain for the 2022 T20 World Cup held in Australia where his side was eliminated early. During his reign as captain of the white-ball side, West Indies cricket had its lowest point when the two-time ODI World Cup champions failed to qualify for the 2023 showpiece.

On the other hand, the 29-year-old batter became West Indies’ leading run scorer in T20I ahead of Chris Gayle during the 2022 T20 World Cup. His last international match came in December 2024 against Bangladesh at Kingstown.

The devastating batter has been renowned for his stints in franchise cricket and was most recently seen playing for Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League (IPL).