West Indies T20 vice-captain Nicholas Pooran rose to fame in the shortest format of the game as a somewhat of a late-innings specialist, somebody whose role entailed coming in and hitting boundaries at the back-end of the innings.
In recent times, however, Pooran has embraced a new role at the top of the innings. He recently explained how the roles differ.
“Massive difference. At three sometimes, if you come in in the powerplay, the ball is swinging, it's then just a matter of facing a couple balls and you basically have the freedom to execute your skills to maximize only two fielders being outside the circle,’” Pooran said in a recent interview with EspnCricinfo.
“Batting later and coming in the tenth or 15th over, it's about having that clarity in your execution, the skill and ability to perform in those different roles,” Pooran added.
He also emphasized the importance of being versatile as a T20 batsman.
“If you look around at international cricket, not many openers can finish an innings, so to me it's about being versatile and working on your skills to adapt. But it's definitely easier batting at the top of the innings than in the back end,” Pooran said.
In the West Indies' last T20 international series against India, Pooran scored three fifties in as many games batting at the number three slot.
He will hope to bring that versatility to the Sunrisers Hyderabad for the Indian Premier League which gets underway on March 26th. Pooran’s Sunrisers open their tournament on March 29th against the Rajasthan Royals.