MLC 2025: A day after international retirement, Nicholas Pooran named MI New York captain

The destructive wicketkeeper-batter, Nicholas Pooran, is all set to lead MI New York (MINY) in the impending edition of the Major League Cricket (MLC) 2025. Pooran was announced as the captain of MINY just one day after he shocked the cricket world by stepping away from international formats.

Pooran played a significant role in New York's title win in the inaugural edition of MLC in 2023, when he scored a jaw-dropping 137 not out in the final against Seattle Orcas. The 29-year-old played a total of 61 ODIs and 106 T20Is for the West Indies team before announcing his retirement. He also led the Caribbean side in 23 matches after taking the reigns from Kieron Pollard.

MINY announced their new skipper through a social media post. "#NYC Fam, there's a new commander in town - Captain Nicholas Pooran," they captioned the announcement on X (formerly known as Twitter).

MI New York@MINYCricket

#NYC Fam, there’s a new commander in town - 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐍𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐬 𝐏𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐧! 💙 #OneFamily #MINewYork #MLC2025

02:30 AM · Jun 11, 2025

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Pooran captained MINY in the playoffs and the final during the 2023 edition of the MLC. This was after regular skipper Kieron Pollard was ruled out due to an injury. However, last year, Pollard captained MINY throughout the season. He led the team to the playoffs, where they lost the Eliminator to Texas Super Kings.

Pooran will hope to help MINY reclaimed the title after Washington Freedom emerged victorious in 2024. The Trinidad-born has a fantastic squad at his disposal, with several players who can change the momentum of the game with their brilliance. MINY are scheduled to begin their campaign on Saturday, June 14, when they take on Texas Super Kings at the Oakland Coliseum in California.

Here's a look at the MINY squad for MLC 2025:

Nicholas Pooran (C & WK), Quinton de Kock, George Linde, Azmatullah Omarzai, Kieron Pollard, Michael Bracewell, Trent Boult, Rashid Khan, Tajinder Singh, Kunwarjeet Singh, Sunny Patel, Heath Richards, Noshtush Kenjige, Ehsan Adil, Naveen-ul-Haq, Rushil Ugarkar, Monak Patel, Agni Chopra, Sharad Lumba.