Will continue to learn from my experiences: WI skipper Pooran after side's early T20 WC exit
Oct 29, 2022
St John's [Antigua], October 29 : Following his side's early exit from ICC T20 World Cup in Australia, West Indies skipper Nicholas Pooran suggested that he will continue to learn from his setbacks rather than stepping down as captain.
West Indies, who won the tournament in 2012 and 2016, made a shock exit from the tournament in the first round after losses to Scotland and Ireland. It did win a match against Zimbabwe, but that was not enough to help them qualify for the Super 12 stage of the tournament.
"I have been thinking about the last couple of months...Playing cricket is my dream and obviously I have had my test in life as well and this is another test for me. I am a person that embraces challenges and this was just another one for me," ESPNCricinfo quoted Pooran as saying.
"It is not going to stop me. I am going to continue to learn from my experiences and again I am happy I can wake up in the morning and see that I have an opportunity to play cricket again," he added.
The white-ball skipper has vowed that he will use this hurt as a motivation to bounce back even stronger.
"Obviously, we do not know what the future holds but we will take it day by day. Again, it was a learning experience for all of us and this is our journey and our story. Time will tell what will happen but for now it is just about focusing on ourselves and how we can get better as individuals," he said.
"Rest is the ultimate [way to heal] and every player needs that but inside it is still hurting as well. I want to use that hurt as motivation and obviously come back strong," he added.
The reaction to Windies' early exit from the tournament was sharp. Cricket West Indies (CWI) Ricky Skerritt put the blame on batters and promised that a "thorough post-mortem" would be carried out.
Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting also termed the exit a "disgrace", expressing his disappointment with the two-time champions. Head coach Phil Simmons has resigned from his position, with two-match Test series in Australia from next month set to be his last assignment.
West Indies overall T20I record for the calendar year 2022 has been extremely sub-par and their win-loss ratio of 0.53 is second-worst among teams who have played at least 15 matches in this time period, behind Bangladesh.
Since their last title win in the 2016 T20 WC, West Indies have lost six out of their eight matches in the tournament.
Meanwhile, Pooran's focus will also be on helping Trinidad and Tobago defend their Super50 crown, the domestic ODI tournament in his country. Pooran is on a long break from his Windies commitments, with his side's T20I tour to Pakistan being rescheduled from January 2023 to 2024. West Indies will not be playing any white-ball cricket until a full-fledged tour to South Africa in February-March next year.
