AB de Villiers comparison a huge confidence boost: Nicholas Pooran
Shooting star of West Indies batting looks at a great season with Kings XI Punjab
Nicholas Pooran, hailed as the next big thing in West Indies cricket, was in for a pleasant surprise while in quarantine in the beachfront hotel of Kings XI Punjab in Dubai. The wicketkeeper-batsman received a huge thumbs up from Gautam Gambhir, former Indian opener and a successful captain of Kolkata Knight Riders, who said in a chat show that he would keep the 24-year-old in the same bracket as AB de Villiers — the actual ‘Mr 360 degrees’ of cricket — in terms of his ability to play strokes on all sides of the wicket.
‘‘It gives your confidence a huge boost before the Indian Premier League,’’ said Pooran, who arrived earlier this week after turning out for Guyana Amazon Warriors in the recently concluded Caribbean Premier League. ‘‘I read about Gambhir’s comments only yesterday. AB is my favourite batsman and to be spoken in the same breath as him is a huge bonus. I have been trying to do things differently in batting and it feels good to see that hard work does not go unnoticed,’’ he said during an exclusive interview on a zoom call with Gulf News on Wednesday. The immensely gifted batsman from Trinidad, now in his second year with Kings XI Punjab, has already played in Pakistan Super League (PSL), Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and been a regular at the T10 League in the UAE.
Asked what would be his expectations from his franchise in the IPL this year, Pooran struck a positive outlook. ‘‘Kings XI is a wonderful franchise to play for. The vibes seem to [be] good, KL Rahul is a good leader and I have learnt a lot of good things about [Anil] Kumble... he had been a successful coach with Mumbai Indians and we should certainly have a good season,’’ said Pooran.
A plus for Pooran will be his prior knowledge of the UAE wickets
A major plus for young Pooran will be his prior knowledge of the wickets in the UAE as he has played here on Sharjah and Abu Dhabi wickets in T10 tournaments over the last couple of years. ‘‘Yes, I know about the conditions here. The Abu Dhabi wicket is a good one to bat on while the one in Sharjah is low and skiddy,’’ recalled the southpaw.
Hailing from Trinidad, how would he sum up the influence of a certain Brian Charles Lara in his career? ‘‘To me, he is the best cricketer I have ever seen. He is to West Indies cricket what Sachin (Tendulkar) is to India and has been one of my heroes. I have never tried to consciously copy his style but if you are a lefthander growing up in the West Indies, then there will some inluence of Lara’s style in your batting,’’ said Pooran.
Asked if he ever turned to Lara for advice, he revealed: ‘‘Yes, I have his number on my Whataspp and I go get in touch with him when I feel the need to.’’ The presence of Chris Gayle in the Kings XI Punjab squad is also a big plus for him — especially during life in a bio-bubble which would revolve around the regimen of hotel rooms, practice sessions and matches.