“More will follow in that direction, I don’t control” - Daren Sammy on Nicholas Pooran’s sudden retirement

West Indies national team’s head coach Daren Sammy has opened up on Nicholas Pooran’s sudden retirement from international cricket, stating that more cricketers will follow in that direction, and he doesn’t have any control over stopping that.

Moreover, Sammy asserted that he was glad that Pooran informed his retirement decision early, with the T20 World Cup 2026 scheduled next year, as the national team would have enough time to prepare without him.

"My instincts told me something like that would happen. Ideally, a talent like that, I would love to have him on the team. But I don't control, nor could I control, anybody's careers… I wished him well, and he wished the team well. It is about trying to move on now from planning a game plan without Nicholas Pooran. With a World Cup coming ahead, I respect the fact that he told us early enough so we have more time to plan without him," said Sammy as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

Most recently, a lot of young and experienced cricketers like Heinrich Klaasen, Quinton De Kock, and Glenn Maxwell have announced their retirements and instead opted to play franchise cricket.

"I'm pretty sure more will follow in that mood, in that direction. That's the way T20 cricket is now, and especially coming from the West Indies, with the challenges that we face trying to keep our players motivated to play for the crest, so I wouldn't be surprised. You saw everybody talk about Heinrich Klaasen, Quinton de Kock, these guys who've retired. It's out of our control," Sammy added.

Furthermore, Sammy asserted that he isn’t surprised at all by cricketers taking the franchise route. Notably, WI, without Nicholas Pooran, suffered 0-3 defeats in both ODI and T20I series against England

"Surprised? No, I'm not surprised. I said something to the guys in the team meeting today: we don't have control. It's up to each individual to understand what the brand and the crest mean, and come out and play a brand that those people come and travel three hours to watch you play because of what the crest means to them," Sammy concluded.

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