Rishabh Pant posted a wholehearted message for Lucknow Super Giants teammate Nicholas Pooran on the West Indies player’s retirement from international cricket.Pooran, one of West Indies’ most explosive and dependable white-ball cricketers, made a surprise announcement of calling time on hs international career at the age of 29.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!In an Instagram post, Pant wrote, “You’ve made your mark, bro – a true teammate, friend and an absolute powerhouse. Proud to have shared the field with you. Congrats on everything you have done for West Indies cricket. Wishing you nothing but success for the road ahead. Respect always!”Pooran, a left-handed batter, who holds the record for most T20I runs and appearances for West Indies, announced his retirement on Instagram. In the post he clarified that it was a very difficult decision but one he had given a serious though.“Wearing that maroon, standing for the anthem, and giving everything I had each time I stepped on the field… it’s hard to put into words what that truly means to me,” Pooran wrote. “To have led the team as captain is a privilege I will always hold close to my heart.”Pooran’s career in the shortest format was marked by his rise to becoming the team’s all-time leading scorer. It also saw him getting briefly suspended, in 2019, for ball-tampering against Afghanistan. He bounced back swiftly and captained the team during Kieron Pollard’s absence, leading West Indies to a 4-1 series victory versus Australia. He was later named permanent white-ball captain in 2022, though he stepped down after the T20 World Cup in Australia.In 106 T20Is, Pooran scored 2,275 runs. He also featured in 61 ODIs, scoring three centuries.Cricket West Indies hailed him as a “game-changer” and thanked him for his “outstanding contributions” to the sport and to the team.
