Nicholas Pooran has been appointed captain of the Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) ahead of CPL 2025, succeeding Kieron Pollard, who has led the franchise since 2019 after taking over from Dwayne Bravo.
“It means a lot, first and foremost, to represent Trinbago Knight Riders. It’s a privilege to have the opportunity to lead this franchise,” Pooran said. “I want to give it my best shot and make as many correct decisions as I can. The captaincy has been passed from Bravo to Pollard, and now to me. The most satisfying part is that Pollard is still playing, and Sunil [Narine] and Andre [Russell] are here too — that’s a lot of experience I can bank on. Leading them on the field means a lot to me.”
Pooran, one of the most sought-after T20 players globally, made his CPL debut as a 17-year-old in the league’s inaugural season for TKR, then known as Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel. He later represented the Barbados Royals and Guyana Amazon Warriors before returning to TKR in 2022. Having featured in every CPL season except 2015 — when he missed out due to a car accident — he has amassed 2,447 runs at a strike rate of 152.27 in 114 matches. Currently, he also captains MI New York in Major League Cricket and MI Emirates in the ILT20.
Under Pollard’s leadership, TKR clinched their fourth CPL title in 2020 with a record unbeaten season (12 wins from 12 matches) and made two further playoff appearances. Last year, they exited after losing the Eliminator to Barbados Royals. Bravo, who retired in 2024, takes over as TKR’s head coach this season.
Pollard expressed full confidence in the leadership change:
“I believe grooming the next generation is very important. With Bravo now head coach, we felt this was the right time for a new captain. Pooran is homegrown, and we’ve been preparing him for this role over the years. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be playing, but I’m happy to still be on the field to help Nicholas ease into this job. He understands our values, the winning culture we want to create, and has the respect of players worldwide. It was an easy decision to hand him the reins.”
