No Pooran, no problem - West Indies smash their 2nd highest T20I total

Nicholas Pooran might have retired, but honestly, West Indies’ batting didn’t seem to miss a beat after that shocking decision.

June 10 – Pooran hangs up his boots.
June 15 – The Windies casually smash their second-highest T20I total.

And who bore the brunt of that carnage? Ireland, whose bowlers were pummelled for a jaw-dropping 256 runs.
One has to wonder… did they start googling “career change options” mid-innings?

Pooran wasn’t around, but Evin Lewis stepped up and said, “I got this.”
He came out all guns blazing and hammered a blistering 91. Shai Hope too smashed a 27-ball-51 as an opening stand of 122 set the tone for what looked like a record-breaking night. only for West Indies to fall just 2 runs short of their all-time best in T20Is. In reply, Ireland could only manage 194/7 and lost the game by 62 runs.

Turns out, Pooran’s absence wasn’t a hole to fill — it was just extra room for Windies batters to swing even harder.

In a plot twist no one saw coming, Nicholas Pooran pulled the plug on his international career on June 10 when he was just 29! One minute he was smashing sixes, the next he was dropping retirement bombshells on social media, calling it a “very difficult” decision. Talk about an early exit with flair.

With over 4,000 runs across 61 T20Is and 106 ODIs, Pooran didn’t just play — he performed. But just as fans were gearing up to see him back in Windies colours post-IPL, he hit the brakes.

Interestingly, his shocker came just days after he asked for rest from the white-ball tour of England — probably still catching his breath after his 2025 IPL stint with the Lucknow Super Giants. Turns out, he wasn't asking for a break, he was signing off for good.