The West Indies players are always in demand whenever the Indian Premier League (IPL) auctions take place. Something similar was on display during the recently-concluded mega-auction of the upcoming 2022 season of the cash-rich league.
As many as 14 West Indies players were roped in by the different franchises to join the already retained Caribbean stars such as Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell. Among the total 17 Windies players, explosive batter Nicholas Pooran bagged the biggest contract.
Despite a dreadful campaign in the previous season of the lucrative tournament, Pooran was highly in demand when his name came in the two-day bidding event held in Bengaluru. The wicketkeeper-batter triggered the bidding war amongst franchises where Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) eventually won the battle and acquired his services for a whopping INR 10.75 crore.
Overjoyed by his heavy bid, Pooran, who is currently with the West Indies squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against India, threw a pizza party for his teammates inside the bio-bubble. Notably, the Trinidadian ordered as many as 15 pizzas that cost him INR 15,000.
“Since outside food is not allowed, he (Nicholas Pooran) placed the order at the hotel chef for 15 pizzas,” the local manager told PTI, as quoted by Times of India.
“It needed to be vetted by a qualified chef. Since it’s a strict grade one bio-bubble, we have to tell the food temperature and how it is sanitised, and then only it goes to the room. There were a total of 15 pizza boxes, and everything was sanitised before being delivered to the room. The player had to make the payment,” added the manager.
After being picked by the Sunrisers, Pooran expressed his gratitude towards the Cricket West Indies (CWI) for laying the foundation of his career.
“I’m very thankful. I can’t wait for that journey to begin. But before that journey begins, I just want to give thanks to Cricket West Indies for laying the foundation for my career, and I hope a lot of youngsters get that opportunity as well,” said Pooran as quoted by CWI.
