The 37-year-old Trinidadian who last played Test cricket for the West Indies against Australia in January 2016, made his debut against Sri Lanka in July 2005. In 74 Tests, he scored 2898 runs r.that included four centuries and 15 half-centuries, at an average of 25.87. He took 205 catches and 12 stumpings in his Test career.
He made his decision known on Instagram on Friday.
“It is with great pleasure that I announce my retirement from international cricket,” said Ramdin, who last donned West Indies colours in a T20 match against India in December 2019.
“The past 14 years have been a dream come true. I fulfilled my childhood dreams by playing cricket for Trinidad and Tobago and the West Indies.
“My career afforded me the opportunity to see the world, make friends from different cultures and still be able to appreciate where I came from.”
Notwithstanding his retirement from international cricket, Ramdin said he will still be playing franchise cricket.
Ramdin played 139 ODIs for the West Indies scoring 2200 runs with two centuries and eight half centuries, averaging 25.00. he also had completed 181 catches and seven stumpings.
He also played 71 T20I in which he scored 636 runs. In those matches he took 43 catches and pulled off 20 stumpings.
The West Indies are currently ranked 10th in the ICC T20 rankings despite having some of the best players in the world in their talent pool. However, Pooran anticipates that the team could show its full potential at the next world cup.
“I just believe that most of the series West Indies play, they don't play with their strongest team. And by strongest I mean Chris Gayle, Pollard, Russell, Narine, Bravo in the team together,” the talented Trinidadian said in a recent interview with ESPNCricinfo.
“In the last couple of years, we haven't witnessed these players together. Either most of them weren't selected, some were unavailable... but definitely a case around that.
“We couldn't play as a team after the last T20 World Cup. This, I am saying from a player's and a fan's point of view. Not seeing some of my favourite players represent West Indies might be one of the reasons.”
Notwithstanding the disappointment that comes with that reality, Pooran said he is looking forward to the coming T20 World Cup where he expects to be a better player holding his own amongst the best players from the region.
“Personally, I am looking forward to the T20 World Cup. As a team, our strength is T20s. For the last couple of years, we've been doing good in World Cups, but as a team where we are ranked [10th], it doesn't show how good our team actually is,” he said, indicating that believes that situation could change in the near future.
“Most of the senior guys are coming back to the West Indies team... like Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine are all coming back eventually.
“As a player, I am especially excited because I want to do good for the West Indies people and put a smile on their faces. My record for West Indies in T20s isn't that good and I want to improve that for the next couple of months.”
Alick Athanaze was the only scorer of note with 33 as Anderson Phillip (4-32), Jayden Seales (3-31) did the damage for Trinidad and Tobago.
Phillip has so far taken 2-15 as the Windwards struggled once again in their second turn at bat.
Earlier, Trinidad and Tobago resumed at 217-5 with Joshua Da Silva on 51 and Terrence Hinds on five. The pair would eventually post 72 for the sixth wicket when Da Silva was dismissed for 73. Hinds would go on to make 57 as Trinidad were eventually dismissed for 326.
Sherman Lewis was the best of the Windwards bowlers with 5-43.
However, when they went to bat the Volcanoes imploded as other than Athanaze, Devon Smith (16) was the only other top-order batter in double figures. Among the lower order Ryan John (16), Larry Edward (13) and Kenneth Dember (10) were the only other batters in double figures.
The Volcanoes recovered excellently to make 225 off 73.2 overs after starting the day 14-4 with Kavem Hodge and Sunil Ambris at the wicket on four and zero, respectively.
The recovery effort was led by Ambris thanks to a crucial 141-ball 79 including nine fours and a six while pacer Ryan John and wicketkeeper Tevyn Walcott made valuable contributions of 37* and 35, respectively.
Jomel Warrican took 4-58 for the Pride while Akeem Jordan and Jair McAllister took two wickets, each.
Chasing 236 for victory, the Pride were 28-3 off 17 overs at stumps with Jonathan Drakes (9) and Chaim Holder (0) at the crease.
If the Windwards Volcanoes win and the Guyana Harpy Eagles lose to the Leeward Islands Hurricanes, the Volcanoes could lift the title.
After winning the toss and bowling first, the Windwards made easy work of the Leewards. By the 19th over, the Leewards were all out as left arm spinner Qiana Joseph picked up her first career hat trick as part of a five-wicket haul.
Divya Saxena was the lone Leewards batter to reach double figures and she remained unbeaten on 44 as her team was all out for 59.
Joseph had figures of 5-0-14-5, while seamer Jannillea Glasgow had 5-3-11-2.
In reply, the Windwards openers added 48 before Malika Edward was the first to go for 31. Namiah Marcellin made 12, then skipper Afy Fletcher smashed two boundaries on her way to 11 not out as the Windwards reached victory in 15.1 overs.
“Our team plans were the same as we did against Guyana. We wanted to bowl first and we got the toss win. It was exciting to bowl them out for less than 60, the plan worked faster than we expected,” said Windwards vice-captain Jannillea Glasgow to CWI Media after the match.
“We just have to continue sticking to the basics heading into the rest of matches. Qiana just kept that momentum from the Guyana game and she was buzzing around. To our competitors, we are coming for them, we are not backing down,” she added.
At Conaree Sports Ground, a batting masterclass by skipper Hayley Matthews took defending champions Barbados to their second win is as many matches with a nine-wicket victory over Guyana.
Batting first, Guyana’s struggles with the bat continued. Sheneta Grimmond top-scored with 24, while skipper Shemaine Campbelle and Kaysia Schultz made 21 each, as they posted 121 all out in 34.3 overs. Shakera Selman, Shamilia Connell, Hayley Matthews and Keila Elliott all grabbed two wickets apiece.
It was then the Matthews show as she shared in a 109-run opening stance with Kycia Knight who made 40. Matthews smashed four sixes and eight fours to finish the innings on 72 not out from 42 deliveries as Barbados needed just 17.1 overs to reach their target.
In the day’s other game, Trinidad and Tobago Red Force Divas pulled off a thrilling one-wicket victory over Jamaica at the St. Paul’s ground.
Batting first, Natasha McLean (59) rescued Jamaica’s innings, after their top-order collapsed at 19/4 in 13.5 overs.
McLean and Chedean Nation (24) then shared in a 59-run partnership as Jamaica reached 123 all out in 39.4 overs.
Teenager Samara Ramnath dominated with her off-breaks as she finished with figures of 7.4-4-13-5 while Kirbyina Alexander was next best with 7-1-17-2.
Britney Cooper led the Red Force Divas run-chase with a top-score of 53 as T&T pulled off the thrilling win. Vanessa Watts was the top Jamaican bowler with figures of 10-4-16-3, followed by Celina Whyte with 9-0-24-2.
The powerfully built Trinidadian allrounder was winning his 15th title and his fifth with Mumbai, also a record for the franchise.
It puts him above compatriot Dwayne Bravo, who has 14, Shoaib Malik with 12, Rohit Sharma, Mumbai’s captain Rohit Sharma with 10 and Lasith Malinga, who has nine titles.
Following Tuesday’s comfortable five-wicket victory over the Capitals, Pollard expressed his joy at winning yet another title but confesses that the path to winning the many trophies he has won has never been easy.
“It's a great feeling. I've been here 11 years, fifth trophy,” said Pollard who won a record fourth Caribbean Premier League title with the Trinbago Knight Riders in September.
“No one sees the planning and training, it's pressure playing for a franchise like this. The amount of trophies, the amount of work, the amount of players who go on to play for their countries, I think we'll have to say so [that this is the best T20 franchise].”
Pollard praised the owners and management of the franchise and aimed a friendly dig at his fellow Trinidadian, who plays for the Chennai Super Kings.
“Dwayne Bravo you're behind now and I'm in front of you, just had to say it on camera.”
From all indications, he seems to relish the pressure that comes with a final. He made reference to this prior to Tuesday's final in a video on Mumbai's Twitter page.
“The name of the game is pressure, in a final. Everyone takes that pressure. You want to win and not commit a mistake, but at the end of the day, you have to try to take the finals as a normal game. Just go out there, enjoy yourself and the atmosphere,” Pollard said.
“Obviously, no crowds in this final, but enjoy the magnitude of it. It is an IPL final, it’s the biggest thing after the World Cup final,.
Pollard will now head to New Zealand where he will represent the West Indies in their three-match T20 season set to begin on November 27.
He likens the teams to two biblical characters.
“I see them as Goliath,” said Sammy while addressing the media during a pre-final press conference on Wednesday.
“They are the Goliath of the tournament, but like I said to my men, don’t forget that David defeated Goliath.
“That’s the confidence we have as a team. Everybody knows that from the time the tournament started we said whoever wins this tournament has to go through TKR. That was a given. If you want to win this tournament you have got to beat TKR, and that is what is left to do to win this cup.”
Sammy, who led the West Indies to two ICCT20 World Cups, said the team is confident and united in its vision regarding what is to unfold at the Brian Lara Stadium on Thursday morning.
“They (TKR) have played some exciting, dominant brand of cricket but we have that silent confidence in our team that we play as a unit,” he said.
“They play well as a unit by dominance but we play as a unit by pulling together and believing in ourselves. I think is a very good matchup for tomorrow, and hopefully in this COVID time, we will bring out the entertainment that will ease the stress of the Caribbean people.”
The Zouks got to the final in a dominant win over five-time finalists Guyana Amazon Warriors. The Zouks bowled the Warriors out for just 55, the second-lowest score in CPL history and then achieved their target without losing a wicket.
Sammy led the team to six wins and four losses during the preliminary round.
The Zouks, first-time finalists posted a competitive score of 154 off 19.1 overs, thanks to Andre Fletcher’s top score of 39 and scores of 29 from Mark Deyal, 24 from Roston Chase, and 24 from Najibullah Zadran.
However, the total was not nearly enough as TKR smashed their way to victory with 11 balls to spare.
Lendl Simmons and Darren Bravo posted an unbroken third-wicket partnership of 138 to lead their side to their fourth CPL title.
Sammy, in his post-match comments, lamented that the Zouks did not get more runs after being in a strong position of 77 for 2 in the ninth over of their innings.
“We thought we were about 15-20 runs short from the start we had. Plus, we didn't complete our batting innings and when you play against a side like TKR you have to make sure you at least make full use of your overs. But we still felt we had enough when we put them under pressure in the first six overs,” he said.
“But these guys, Bravo and Simmons, have played so much together; they absorbed the pressure and put it back on us.”
Despite the outcome, Sammy said the Zouks fought bravely and put in a solid shift against the now four-time champions.
“I think we really pushed TKR in all three games we played against them in the tournament and I'm really proud of that,” he said.
“The message from the last few days is we never quit. The whole nation was behind us. We're very disappointed but we have shown that if we play a brand of cricket, we'll get results. I think we've put our hands up this tournament.”
The former West Indies captain said, however, that there were other positives to take from the final.
“Of course when you lose a final you think about things you could have done differently. Maybe I should have been more sure about the decision I wanted to take towards the end. But we've been resilient, we showed commitment and we played a brand of cricket that shows you don't need superstars. For eight years we have been trying to get to the final and we got here,” he said.
“Congratulations to Kieron Pollard and his team and I really want to thank CPL to have cricket in this time. We created an opportunity in the Caribbean for people to smile. And thanks to my team for the way they have turned up.”
