Nicholas Pooran has been appointed captain of Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) for the 2025 Caribbean Premier League, taking over from Kieron Pollard, who has led the team since 2019 after replacing Dwayne Bravo.
“It means a lot to represent Trinbago Knight Riders. I’m privileged to get 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. This is a responsibility passed from Bravo to Pollard, and now to me. The most satisfying thing is that Pollard is still playing, and Sunil Narine and Andre Russell are here too. That’s a lot of experience I can rely on.”
Pooran, one of the most sought-after T20 players, 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 played for Barbados Royals and Guyana Amazon Warriors before returning to TKR in 2022. He has featured in every CPL season except 2015, when an accident ruled him out, scoring 2,447 runs at a strike rate of 152.27 in 114 matches. He is also captain of MI New York in Major League Cricket and MI Emirates in the ILT20.
Under Pollard, TKR won their fourth CPL title in 2020 with a record unbeaten run of 12 wins, followed by two more playoff appearances. Last year, they were knocked out in the Eliminator by Barbados Royals. Bravo, who retired in 2024, has been named head coach for the upcoming season.
Pollard said the leadership change was part of grooming the next generation. “With Bravo as head coach, we felt this is the right time for a new captain. Pooran is homegrown, and we’ve been preparing him for this role over the years. I’m happy to still be on the field to help him ease into it. He understands our values, our style of play, and the winning culture we want to maintain, and he commands respect from players worldwide. It was an easy decision to hand him the captaincy.”
TKR will begin their CPL 2025 campaign against St Kitts & Nevis Patriots on August 17.
