CPL 2025: Pooran replaces Pollard as Trinbago Knight Riders captain

Nicholas Pooran has been named Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) captain ahead of CPL 2025.

He will take over from Kieron Pollard, who has led the team since 2019, when he replaced Dwayne Bravo in the role.

“It means a lot, first and foremost, to represent Trinbago Knight Riders. It is a privilege that I’m getting the opportunity to lead this franchise,” Pooran said.

“I want to give it my best shot, and hopefully make as many correct decisions as I can. It’s a responsibility that has been passed on from Bravo to Pollard, and now to me.

“For me, the most satisfying thing is that Pollard is still playing; Sunil [Narine] and Andre [Russell] are here too. That’s a lot of experience I can bank on. To lead them on the field – it means a lot to me.”

Pooran, who is one of the most sought-after players on the T20 circuit, made his debut in the format as a 17-year-old in the inaugural season of the CPL for TKR, who were then known as Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel. He switched to Barbados Royals (BR) and Guyana Amazon Warriors before returning to TKR in 2022.

He’s played in all the CPL seasons so far except for 2015, when he was out injured due to an accident. Overall in the CPL, Pooran has 2447 runs at a strike rate of 152.27 in 114 matches. At present, he is also the captain of MI New York in the MLC and MI Emirates in the ILT20.

Under Pollard’s leadership, TKR not only won their fourth CPL title in 2020 but had a record unbeaten season – with 12 out of 12 wins – before making two more playoff appearances. In 2024, they lost the Eliminator to BR. Bravo was named head coach this season after he retired last year.

“I believe grooming the next generation is very important,” Pollard said. “With Bravo coming on board this year as the new head coach, we felt this is the right time to get a new captain in. Pooran is homegrown, and I think this is the right opportunity for him. We’ve actually been preparing him for this over the years.

“I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be playing for, but I’m happy for the opportunity to still be on the field and help Nicholas ease into this role. He’s someone who we’ve seen grow in front of us and he understands our values and principles. He understands how we want to play cricket, he understands the winning culture that we want to create, and he shares a lot of respect with a lot of players around the world. So for me, it was an easy decision to hand over the captaincy to Pooran.”

TKR start their CPL 2025 campaign against St Kitts & Nevis Patriots on August 17. (ESPNcricinfo)