Nicholas Pooran Named Captain of MI NewYork: West Indies star batsman Nicholas Pooran shocked everyone by announcing his retirement from international cricket at the young age of 29 on June 10, 2025, after an outstanding performance in IPL 2025. Within 24 hours of his retirement, the New York franchise of Mumbai Indians appointed him as captain for Major League Cricket (MLC) 2025.
Pooran’s Incredible Journey with MI NewYork
Nicholas Pooran began his journey with MI NewYork in 2023. In his first season, he won hearts with his batting. In the final against Seattle Orcas, he scored an unbeaten 137 runs off 55 balls, leading MI NewYork to the title. Pooran was the highest run-scorer of the season with 388 runs, 124 runs ahead of Seattle’s Quinton de Kock (264 runs), who was second. Now, under Pooran’s captaincy, MI NewYork is ready to win the title again.
Pooran’s Long Association with MI Franchise
Pooran has a long association with the Mumbai Indians (MI) franchise. In IPL 2017, Pooran was bought by MI, though he did not get a chance to play that season. Since then, he has played for Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings), Sunrisers Hyderabad, and now Lucknow Super Giants. Despite not having a great IPL experience with MI, he performed brilliantly for MI Emirates in the ILT20 in the UAE. Now, as captain of MI NewYork in MLC, he aims to achieve new success with the franchise.
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There is speculation that Pooran retired from international cricket due to the higher earnings in league cricket. If he had continued to play for the West Indies team for the next 10 years, he would have earned only around 20 crore rupees, compared to the 21 crore rupees he earned in just two months of IPL 2025. This suggests that financial reasons may have influenced his decision to retire from international cricket.