Pak vs WI: Nicolas Pooran confident of a good show against Men in Green

KARACHI: West Indies stand-in T20 captain Nicolas Pooran is confident of a good show in three matches T20I series against Pakistan despite losing players to injury and COVID-19 ahead of the series.

Pooran was named captain after Kieron Pollard was ruled out of the series due to an injury. The side suffered another blow when three of its players were ruled out of the series after being tested positive for covid on arrival in Karachi.

But, Pooran says he’s confident of a good show from this young and new-look side.

He said that losing players to COVID-19 was unfortunate as the management had the plans set for who will be playing and how to take things.

However, the West Indian skipper said that the situation now gives new players an opportunity to showcase their talent.

“It is obviously a new stage for us now. It's unfortunate that we don't have all the senior players here. But in saying that, I am very excited to see this new crop of players get on to the cricket field. I believe that there's a lot of talented players here, a lot of special players, especially when it comes to the shorter format,” he said.

“For me, you know, I'm looking forward to seeing us play together, stick into our plans as much as possible. There's been hungry for success,” Pooran said.

The West Indies captain praised the Pakistani side and acknowledged that the home team had a very good World Cup and has played well in 2021 but highlighted that there’s always a chance in T20 Cricket.

“Pakistan is playing really good. They had a really good World Cup and a really good 2021. But in having said that, in T20 Cricket, you always have a chance,” he said.

“I don't see my side as inexperienced or that guys haven't been a lot of t20 Cricket. They're highly talented and in T20 Cricket, it is anyone game. It just takes one individual to have a brilliant game getting the results in our favour,” Pooran mentioned.

“Pakistan is a top team in international cricket, right now. Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi are at top of the game. But it takes one good ball to get someone out and you know we're looking forward to that kind of thing you know any player.l can have bad games. So, if we can stay confident then you know things can go away,” he said.

The West Indian captain also praised Babar Azam and Rizwan saying that these two have shown batsmanship to the world and it’s always players to learn from them.

“Babar has been one of the best players in the world, it's always a pleasure to learn something from his book,” Pooran said.

“Babar and Rizwan have been fantastic this year. They actually show the world how good they are as batters and they actually show batsmanship. A lot of other people looking on in the world would have seen something special this year from both of them,” he concluded.