Nicholas Pooran: All about the latest West Indies cricketer who was caught ball tampering

West Indies wicketkeeper-batsman Nicholas Pooran was banned by the ICC on Wednesday from four T20Is after being found guilty of ball-tampering in the 3rd ODI against Afghanistan in Lucknow recently. The KXIP player will miss the 3 T20Is against Afghanistan while also missing out on the first T20I against India, which is to follow. Pooran will be eligible for selection in the West Indies side for the 2nd T20I against India on December 8.

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Watch West Indies' Nicholas Pooran tampering the condition of the ball

West Indies' Nicholas Pooran banned for ball-tampering

Nicholas Pooran accepted the sanctions imposed by match referee Chris Broad and admitted the charge that deals with a breach of Level 3 of the ICC’s Code of Conduct. Pooran violated article 2.14 of the Code, which relates to changing the condition of the ball after footage suggested that Nicholas Pooran scratched the surface of the ball with fingernails. Nicholas Pooran issued an apology and called the entire incident an extreme error in judgement. He apologized to his teammates, supporters and the players of Afghanistan for what happened in Lucknow. He further added that he was solely responsible for the incident and that he completely accepts the ICC penalty. Pooran was in fine form in the ODI series vs Afghanistan, winning the Player of the Match award in the 2nd ODI after scoring 67 runs off just 50 balls.

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Nicholas Pooran: One of West Indies' emerging talents

Nicholas Pooran is one of the latest generation of talents to emerge from Trinidad. He made a name for himself in the 2014 U-19 World Cup, contributing 143 in West Indies’ total of 208 against Australia while scoring half-centuries against India and Canada. Pooran made his debut as a 17-year-old, smashing a 24-ball 54 against Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League. He was the highest scorer for Sylhet Sixers, scoring 379 runs in 11 games in the 2018-19 Bangladesh Premier League. Pooran was picked up by Kings XI Punjab in the IPL Auction 2019 for a whopping ₹4.2 cr after he wasn't selected to play for the Mumbai Indians prior to that, despite being in their squad for two seasons.

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Nicholas Pooran banned for 4 games: Lucky to escape a long ban?

Nicholas Pooran’s ball-tampering ban comes in after the Australian trio of Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were suspended for the same indiscipline in March 2018. Bancroft was caught trying to rough one side of the ball using sandpaper in the 3rd Test against South Africa at Newlands. While Smith and Warner served a 12-month ban, Bancroft was handed a 9-month ban by Cricket Australia. Pooran could consider himself lucky after being suspended for just 4 games as the ICC took action on this first and that too swiftly.

Also Read: Nicholas Pooran Caught In Ball-tampering Act In WI Vs AFG Clash?