Nicholas Pooran names toughest Indian bowler he has faced [Exclusive]

Former West Indies cricketer Nicholas Pooran shared his experience facing the likes of Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The explosive left-handed batter, who retired

from international cricket at the age of 29, also revealed the three Indian batters whose batting style he cherished the most, speaking to CricTracker.

Pooran played a total of 167 internationals for West Indies during an international career that spanned eight years. He has registered 1983 runs in 61 ODIs at an average of 39.66 and 2275 runs in 101 T20Is at a strike rate of 136.39. Pooran has also plied his trade for several franchise teams around the globe; Lucknow Super Giants, Trinbago Knight Riders and Rangpur Riders to name a few. With his explosive power-hitting and wicketkeeping skills, Pooran can be considered to be a T20 specialist.

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Excerpts:

You’ve faced some of the best Indian bowlers in the IPL — who’s the toughest Indian bowler you’ve faced so far?

I mean, toughest, there are quite a few. The one that gets me out quite a few times is Kuldeep, definitely. And he knows it as well. Bumrah has got on me a couple of times as well. But hopefully, I will continue to figure out a way, and next year will be different.

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Among current Indian batters, whose batting style do you admire the most and why?

There are quite a few guys that I look at and I quite like. I like Shubman Gill. He's really nice. I like the fact that Rishabh Pant's mentality is 'my way or no way'; he gets the job done. Even young Abhishek [Sharma], his fearlessness, and his ability to hit sixes on the first ball, that's beautiful to see. I like those three guys.

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You’ve shared the dressing room with players like KL Rahul and Shubman Gill — what’s something unique about their work ethic or mindset?

Not only them, but all the world-class players, all the best players in the world - all have a routine. They're all really consistent as well. And they want to be the best in the world. They put the work in. So, the reason why these guys are successful is because they put the work in. I'm not surprised. And that's something I had to take from their book. I had to take that page from their book and implement it in my game. And I just try to be disciplined, consistent, which is most importantly, both on and off the field. And I guess that's the life of a professional athlete, consistency and professionalism.