Nicholas Pooran, courtesy his big-hitting prowess, never had any problems in featuring in the final XI of the teams he has represented so far in the IPL.

In the ongoing edition of the tournament, the Trinidadian left-hander so far aggregates 358 runs, which is his highest in his five seasons in the IPL since debuting for Punjab Kings in 2019. Importantly, those runs, at an impressive strike rate of 173.79, have come at critical phases and were pivotal to Lucknow Super Giants’ qualification for the playoffs. He scored a 30-ball 58 when the Super Giants were wobbling at 73/5 against the Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday.

“I’ve been batting well throughout the tournament and I pride myself to play in such situations,” Pooran, adjudged Man of the Match, said.

Super Giants head coach Andy Flower termed the Caribbean cricketer “sensational”. “Nicky P has worked hard on his bat swing and he knows that if he gets a ball in a certain area, he can clear the boundary. And he has done that through trial and error. He does a lot of boundary-hitting practice as well,” Flower mentioned.

Team man

Not just his contributions with the bat, but his suggestions to the team also add to his utility as a player, Flower pointed out.

“I do think that captaincy experience (for the West Indies) was really good for him as he realised how tough it was. And now, I think he’s appreciating the game and his teammates even more than he used to. He has been a great help to KL (Rahul) when KL captained earlier in the season. He’s a great help to Krunal at the moment.”

WI challenge

While the 27-year-old is so effective in the IPL, Pooran’s strike rate in T20Is drops down to 130.92 when he plays for the West Indies.

“He’s still a young man developing his game. He has had a few bungles along the way, but he’s definitely headed in the right direction,” Flower said.