CPL 2025: Nicholas Pooran succeeds Kieron Pollard as Trinbago Knight Riders' skipper

As the fresh season of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) has well and truly begun, Trinbago Knight Riders have named ravishing southpaw Nicholas Pooran as their captain for the 2025 competition. Former skipper, Kieron Pollard, will still continue to be a part of the set-up, and only the leadership name has changed, as the franchise looks to win yet another title with a victory in this edition.

Pooran believes that it is a moment of pride for someone like him to be leading players like Pollard, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell — arguably three biggest all-rounders around the globe, especially in T20 franchise leagues. Meanwhile, another former TKR all-rounder Dwayne Bravo is now back in the set-up as the head coach and Pooran believes that being around a star-studded room will give him a lot of confidence to bank on while leading a successful franchise.

“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. 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 was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

I don't know how long I'll play: Pollard

Pollard, who is relieving the position for Pooran, has said that the side had been grooming the latter for quite some time to take over the captaincy position. The senior cricketer further believes that Pooran knows how to create and maintain a winning culture within the dressing room, which is extremely crucial for a captain a side. All in all, Pollard says it wasn't a tough decision for the franchise to look elsewhere when Pooran has been a part of their set-up over the last few years.

"I believe grooming the next generation is very important. 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." Pollard said.

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," he added.

TKR will begin their campaign in CPL 2025 with a game against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots on Sunday, August 17 at the Warner Park in Basseterre, St Kitts. Newly-appointed captain Pooran would want to make it count by starting off on a winning note to get the momentum up and running.