Brian Lara, the former West Indies captain and batting star, talked about the career paths of cricketers, especially those from the West Indies. He pointed out that players such as Nicholas Pooran are retiring early to play in other leagues around the globe because they can earn more. Lara thinks this is because the West Indies Cricket Board hasn’t given players enough reason to stay loyal to West Indies cricket, unlike the boards in England, Australia, and India.
On the ‘Stick to Cricket’ podcast, hosted by ex-England players Phil Tuffnell, David Llyod, Michael Vaughan, and Alastair Cook, Brian Lara stated, A lot of guys are deciding what to do with their careers. You’ve got aggressive players such as Pooran, who retired at 29. It’s pretty clear why they did it. There are five or six leagues all over the world where they can make good money.
He added, I don’t have a problem with that. But I don’t think the West Indies Cricket Board has really done anything to keep players loyal to West Indies cricket, unlike the boards in places like England, Australia, or even India.
So, it’s natural that our players will look somewhere else. And when you see players such as Kane Williamson or South Africans making similar choices, you realize these guys are just trying to provide for their families.
Pooran surprised many by retiring from international cricket last month at age 29. The 29-year-old, who recently played well in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Lucknow Super Giants, said retiring from the international scene was difficult.
With over eight months to go before the T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka, Pooran’s decision is a big blow for the 2016 champions. Since joining the international scene in 2016, Pooran played in 106 T20Is and 61 ODIs, scoring over 4,258 runs in both formats.
He scored 2,275 runs in T20Is, averaging 26.14 with a strike rate of 136.39. In ODIs, he had 1,983 runs at an average of 39.66, with a strike rate of 99.15, including three centuries and 11 fifties.