Nicholas Pooran: The Leading T20 Player in the World in 2024

Nicholas Pooran has described himself as a "child of T20", but in 2024 he became a true disciple, playing 76 games in the format - roughly one every five days - and piling up more runs and sixes than anyone had ever managed in a calendar year.

An example of his commitment to the globe-trotting gig economy came in July, when he arrived in Leeds for Northern Superchargers' opening fixture of The Hundred, less than 48 hours after his MI New York team had been knocked out of the Major League Cricket play-offs. Pooran's luggage couldn't keep up with the schedule, so he borrowed a bat from Phil Salt (who played for Manchester Originals, but shared a sponsor).

In late 2023, Pooran had declined a West Indies central contract, sowing the seeds for his bumper harvest. His year began with three games in five days for Durban's Super Giants at the SA20, before helping MI Emirates to success in the ILT20 (either side of three T20 Internationals in Australia).

Then it was Bangladesh for a couple of games with Rangpur Riders, a full IPL season with Lucknow Super Giants (where he averaged 62, at a strike-rate of 178), and a home T20 World Cup. That was followed by MLC and The Hundred, three matches in Trinidad against South Africa, and 11 for Trinbago Knight Riders in the CPL. (We haven't even mentioned the Abu Dhabi T10, where he won another title, with Deccan Gladiators.)

The raw numbers explained Pooran's popularity: 2,331 runs at an average of 40 put him out on his own; Reeza Hendricks, second in the list, made 1,970. And Pooran comfortably eclipsed Mohammad Rizwan's T20 record for a calendar year of 2,036. Even more stark was Pooran's six-hitting ability: 170, one every 8.7 balls, was 65 clear of the next-best, Heinrich Klaasen. He soared past the previous high-water mark of 135, set by Chris Gayle in 2015. During the World Cup, Pooran also overtook him as West Indies' leading T20 runscorer and six-hitter.

Where Gayle was a path-breaking juggernaut, Pooran's virtuosity lay in assessing the situation, whether at No. 3 or finishing the innings at No. 5. His 98 from 53 balls against Afghanistan in St Lucia provided a perfect demonstration of his range and tactical awareness: he raced to 36 off 13 during the powerplay, throttled back for 18 off 26 during the middle overs, then crashed 44 from 14 from the last four. The child of T20 had become its main man, though Pooran's evolution was far from done. "Whatever the best version of myself is, it's yet to come," he said.