IPL 2033 mini-auction witnessed multiple cricketers get mega-paychecks as allrounders Sam Curran, Cameron Green and Ben Stokes came out as the 3 most expensive picks of the event.
Though the trio’s huge price tag came along expected lines, eyebrows were raised when Caribbean wk-batsman Nicholas Pooran fetched a 16 CR bid from Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) despite his subpar record at the Indian Premier League.
Notably, Pooran has just 912 runs off the 44 IPL innings he has played thus far. The left-hander has scored 50 or more on just 4 occasions and though his 2022 IPL for SRH was decent, Nic scored a record 6 ducks during IPL 2021.
Gambhir affirms trust in Nicholas Pooran; labels him a match-winner
LSG mentor and former Team India cricketer Gautam Gambhir has meanwhile spoken on the matter, backing Nicholas Pooran for his impact and talent, citing his elongated run-drought trivial.
“I don’t look at the last season. I look at the player’s ability and impact. This tournament (IPL) is not about scoring 500-600 runs. That player can win you 2-3 matches in a season. He has age on his side. If you can get such a player… You try your best to build your team around him”.
Gautam Gambhir also pointed out Pooran is one of the very few match-winners his age and at 27-year-old, he is bound to take big strides in the next few seasons.
“I am not only looking for this season. He also provides us longevity. Very less players in that age bracket (27-28) have that ability. Pooran will continue to get better as he plays. I always believe that records only make headlines but impact wins you the tournament”.
Nicholas Pooran is set to join an LSG batting lineup that already has skipper KL Rahul, Quinton de Kock and all-rounder Marcus Stoinis in their ranks. Thus, Gautam Gambhir was naturally enquired about the kind of role the Caribbean might get at the franchise.
Here is how the LSG mentor responded to the question on Jio Cinema:
“Finisher. I can not tell you the 11. But we have Marcus Stoinis, Pooran, and Quinton de Kock. Moreover, we will now be having the Impact Player rule too. We’ll make our XI in such a way that if we have to bring in a replacement, we can pick any of these players to bring into the match”.
The West Indies batsman is one of the most fluent stroke-makers and one can only admire him when he is on the song. However, if or not Nicholas Pooran is able to live up to the faith (and obviously, money) LSG has invested in him remains to be seen.