Khan: Pooran did not act deliberately

OMAR Khan has described the ball-tampering situation involving Nicholas Pooran as “unfortunate.” The former TT and West Indies manager believes it was not a deliberate act, as he thinks the young wicketkeeper/batsman would not do anything to spoil his career.

“This is a very unfortunate incident involving Nicholas,” Khan said.

Pooran was found guilty of trying to change the condition of the ball during the third One Day International between West Indies and Afghanistan in India on Monday.

As a result, he has been banned for four T20 Internationals and will now miss the regional team’s three-match T20 series against Afghanistan, starting today. Pooran has apologised for the incident.

Khan, who worked alongside Pooran as manager of the Guyana Amazon Warriors during the 2019 Hero Caribbean Premier League, said, “I have known Nicholas since he started his career with TT and can vouch that he is not the type of player who would do anything to tarnish his and the game’s reputation.”

Khan hopes 24-year-old Pooran learns from this situation. “I am sure it was not a deliberate act on his part. Having said that I now hope that he will learn from this experience and understand that as players, they are always under scrutiny, both on and off the field.”