The Trinidad-born West Indian batting icon Nicholas Pooran has stunned the cricketing world by announcing his retirement from international cricket on Monday. This move from the 29-year-old left many cricketing pundits around the world puzzled. Pooran is currently in the midst of an exceptional run in white-ball cricket. In the 2025 IPL season alone, Pooran played some impactful cameos for LSG and showcased signs of extraordinary grit and determination. 

Being one of the most prolific and destructive cricketers at the franchise level, Pooran was also seen as a central figure in the West Indies' white ball setup. Experts certainly held the opinion that Pooran had a lot of international cricket left in him. With only 61 T20Is between 2016 and 2024, Pooran had a lot of untapped potential, and his absence from the squad is likely going to deflate the Men in Maroon at a time when they desperately need someone to turn the tide in their favor. 

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So, what could be the possible reasons behind Pooran's sudden retirement call? Let's delve deeper into some of the factors that probably must have influenced his decision.

The growing influence of IPL over international cricket

It goes without saying that Pooran has established himself as a powerful IPL icon. On the back of his quickfire knocks, Pooran has gained an unprecedented popularity and earned a reputation for being an entertainer. The IPL has become a key component of his cricketing career. Needless to say, the fat pay cheques he receives after every IPL game suffice all his needs, which the national cricketing board may struggle to comply with. It can be said for sure that being a part of the national squad would not have given him enough games, nor enriched his exposure to a level where he could be seen as a global icon. 

An abundance of lucrative franchise leagues worldwide 

The West Indies Cricket Board is going through a time of instability and is facing a whole world of other operational challenges that are limiting the growth opportunities of the players. At a time like this, players like Pooran look beyond international cricket and explore the possibility of featuring in numerous cash-rich leagues that often tend to provide players with a lot of stability and exposure. Pooran is an experienced campaigner at the franchise level and has participated in as many as 11 franchise leagues from around the world. Add to that, he has been more successful at the franchise level as opposed to the international level. He averages 29.47 and has a strike rate of over 150 with three centuries at the T20 franchise level format, whereas in T20I cricket, his average and strike rate plummet to 26.14 and 136.39, respectively.

Reduced involvement with WICB following his captaincy exit in 2022

Pooran's success as a white-ball captain for the Windies had been very limited. After being appointed as the skipper in 2022 across two white-ball formats, the team under him performed poorly and eventually crashed out of the T20 World Cup 2022. He subsequently decided to step down after the horror show, which also resulted in his decreased involvement with the board. His regular spot in the squad was not always guaranteed, and the swashbuckling batter felt that his opportunities were being restricted at the international level, thus leading to his shock retirement.