The year 2025 has been marked by an unprecedented wave of shocking retirements. The cricketing world has been rocked to its core, previously seeing the departure of legendary cricketers, like Glenn Maxwell and Heinrich Klaasen, from the international scene. In a groundbreaking turn of events, another player joins the queue, and it is none other than the West Indian batting stalwart Nicholas Pooran.

The Trinidadian-born batter announced his retirement from international cricket on Monday via an emotional post on Instagram. Pooran is an absolute powerhouse when it comes to batting in the shortest format. The 29-year-old boasts an exceptional record in T20 franchise cricket and is highly regarded for his lethal exploits in leagues such as the Indian Premier League (IPL), Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Major League Cricket (MLC). 

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Pooran thinks long and hard before calling time on his international career 

On Monday, Pooran confirmed the news of his international retirement by penning an emotional post on his Instagram account. He fell short of words while describing his emotions while playing for the national side. He further adds that he feels grateful for having the privilege to don the maroon jersey and lead his national side. 

“Wearing that maroon, standing for the anthem, and giving everything I had each time I stepped on the field... It is hard to put into words what that truly means to me. To have led the team as captain is a privilege I will always hold close to my heart.”

Along with the post, the T20 batting icon added a comment confessing that it was indeed tough for him to arrive at this decision and that the decision was taken after an intense consideration. 

Nicholas Pooran is considered one of the most destructive batters in T20 cricket and maintains a blazing strike rate of over 150 in franchise cricket. He represented the West Indies in the limited-overs format and holds the record for the most T20I runs and appearances for his national side. In 106 T20Is, Pooran has accumulated 2275 runs and has 13 half-century scores. His career has seen phases of highs and lows. In 2019, Pooran came under scrutiny for ball-tampering against Afghanistan and was briefly suspended.

However, he managed to turn around his fortunes in Pollard's absence, went on to hammer Australia 4-1 in a T20I series in 2021. He was later named the permanent white-ball captain for the Windies in 2022 but stepped down due to West Indies' disappointing exit from the 2022 T20 World Cup.