Nicholas Pooran has been blowing hot and cold a bit too much for a player of his ability.
Captain in waiting
Nicholas Pooran is clearly being seen as the next captain after Kieron Pollard decides to call it a day. He was brilliant in the 5-match T20I series hosted by West Indies against Australia and helped the team to a 4-1 victory.
While there is no doubt over the ability of Nicholas Pooran -- and he keeps reiterating it time and again with the kind of performances he puts in on the field -- for a player of his ability, he has been far too inconsistent.
If there is one player with whom the West Indian wicket keeper can be compared is Australia's Glenn Maxwell. For a player of the talent that Pooran possesses, it is very frustrating as a fan when he gets out in inexplicable manners.
Baby steps in leadership This is what stand-in captain Nicholas Pooran had to say when he stepped up in terms of leadership in the absence of Kieron Pollard to lead West Indies to a 4-1 victory against Australia at home.
"Wonderful achievement. Especially after the last series, we played proper cricket. Leg spinners are champs in T20 cricket. We are very happy for Hayden. He has been working so hard on his bowling and I am very happy for him. We wanted to win 5-0, but we will take 4-1. Leadership is tough. It's tough when there's a lot of information to gather."
"You are not sure what is the correct advise at times. It was a good learning for me. I am happy and thankful for the information shared. I learnt different things and got to see the game in a different way - from captain's point of view. Can't single out anyone. So many T20 greats out there. Trevor Penney works so much off the field. Happy for the group."
No tempo
Be it in the IPL or in International cricket, Nicholas Pooran hasn't been able to find the right tempo.
He either goes overboard with the aggression and ends up giving his wicket away or he gets bogged down and chews up a lot of dot deliveries.
What he needs to do is to find the right balance between aggression and restraint and once he gets that tempo right, there will be no stopping a player of the calibre of Nicholas Pooran.
