The Albany Gazette - Pooran gives up captaincy of West Indies white ball teams

West Indies, which won the title as recently as 2016, failed to advance from the group stage after losses to Scotland and Ireland.

"I have given the captaincy a great deal of thought since the enormous disappointment of the T20 World Cup," said Pooran who also relinquishes the captaincy of the one-day international team.

"I took on the role with great pride and dedication and have given it absolutely everything over the past year.

"The T20 World Cup is something that must not define us and I will readily get involved in the upcoming reviews.

"Whilst it will be several months until we reconvene as a squad, I want to give CWI plenty of time to prepare for the matches against South Africa in March and beyond."

That tour, which includes two Tests, three ODIs and three T20s, is the next time the West Indies white ball lineup will take to the field.

The 27-year-old Trinidadian wicketkeeper, who has yet to play a Test, said his goal was to focus better as a player by removing the captain's mantle.

"This is not me giving up," Pooran said. "I remain ambitious and still view the captaincy of West Indies cricket as an honour that is bestowed upon you. There is no doubt I remain fully committed to West Indies cricket and I look forward to providing my services as a senior player in a supportive role.

"By stepping down now as the West Indies white ball captain I believe it is in the best interests of the team and for me personally, as I need to concentrate on what I can deliver to the side as a player."

Pooran led the West Indies in 2021 and this year in the absence of Kieron Pollard, taking a home T20I series victory over Australia by 4-1.

He was officially appointed white ball captain in May when Pollard stepped down.

In all, Pooran guided the team in 17 ODIs and 23 T20s, with series wins over Bangladesh and the Netherlands.

The left-hander's only white ball century came against Sri Lanka in the 2019 ODI World Cup.

"I desperately want us to be successful and the most value I can give to the team is through fully focusing on the role of consistently scoring runs at crucial times," Pooran said.

Jimmy Adams, CWI cricket director, praised Pooran's efforts as captain.

"I know he remains fully committed to West Indies cricket," Adams said. "I'm convinced he has a big role to play in our future."

(G.Gruner--BBZ)