west indies Pooran relishes return post-covid19

“I’m getting hungry for another opportunity. The next game I play, I’ll play (it) like my last game and give my all. Because in the back of my mind, I don’t know what is going to happen in the future. Waking up with a purpose is my daily routine. I’m just making up my mind every day and every week, thinking my chance to compete once more is coming,” he said.

“I set a goal for myself this year to be the best I could be with my fitness. I’m using exercise weights, Zoom and doing some rehab work with therapist Jason Pilgrim. It has been good for as I’m also working on my diet. I want to be ready for when that next opportunity comes. If I have to do push-ups with a brick on my back or lift a gas tank, I try to make it work somehow,” he added.

“When you’re in the middle (pitch) and there are a lot of people, there’s so much energy. You just want to be out there performing at the best level. With no spectators, it’s bad for athletes. But it’s all about being a professional and it’s my job to do the best I can do. If I don’t perform, I’m going to get dropped (from the team) eventually. So I have to find it in my mind now, turn around the negativity and make it work because we don’t know how long this virus is going to last. We have to make the adjustment and make the difference,” he concluded.

NICHOLAS POORAN has made it abundantly clear that he wants to play Test cricket.

Growing up, I always watched Test cricket and I’ve always wanted to play. I had an unfortunate accident, I had to make decisions and had to live with the consequences. But now everything is alright with me and whenever I am called to play Test cricket, I am ready to play.

The 24-year-old also revealed how tough the recovery time from his nearly career-ending injury was – he sustained significant damage to his left leg in a motor vehicle crash in January, 2015 in Trinidad.

My mindset, to be honest … sitting down at the hospital and sitting at home, I knew my dream was to be a professional cricketer. Mentally, I was so strong. I decided that anything that happened to me, happened for a reason and I just started to believe. Every time I saw improvement in myself, I started to believe that it was possible. I will play cricket again. I didn’t believe I would be down forever. Every time I went to sleep and woke up, I just decided that today was going to be a better day.

My girlfriend and her family, they came and prayed for me; started to teach me about the Bible and religion. They just told me to believe. I started to believe and I saw for myself that every day I was seeing improvement. I believe it’s because of my belief and trust in the Lord. That changed everything for me, to be honest.

I think the guys would get better as more they play. Remember no one was playing any cricket for a while since Covid 19.