Enjoy Yourself And Stay Still: Nicholas Pooran Reveals Advice He Got From His Childhood Hero Chris Gayle

West Indian swashbuckler and the Caribbean islands’ latest superstar Nicholas Pooran has revealed that ‘Universe Boss’ Chris Gayle’s advice of staying stills and enjoy every moment is easily the best tip he has got in his career.

Pooran, who had the highest strike rate for a batsman with more than 300 runs in IPL 2020, will once again join forces at Punjab Kings with his childhood idol, Chris Gayle in the upcoming season.

“I look up to him (Gayle). He is one of my favorite batsmen. When I was growing up, I loved to watch him bat. I used to wake up early in the mornings to see him bat. He is a simple guy. He gives me the simplest advice, which is, ‘enjoy yourself and just stay as still as possible’,” Nicholas Pooran told IANS.

“This is the best advice he can give to someone because he plays his game like that. You see him on the field and you know — it is all about enjoyment and entertainment,” he added.

Pooran, who smashed 353 runs at a strike rate of 169.71 last year, will once again be a key force for Puniab Kings’ middle-order in IPL W0202

The 25-year-old came out of mandatory quarantine on Wednesday. During the interview, he opened up about the mental toll that bubble life can have on players.

“It (living in a bio-bubble) is definitely a challenge. If you are not in a bubble, then you can’t really speak about it, you don’t know what the feeling inside is like. It is a different challenge, especially playing a game and coming back to the hotel and getting stuck in your room,” said Pooran.

“Players are also human beings. I think a lot of people forget that they are human beings at the end of the day. You have feelings, you have emotions as well and it is a challenge. As professionals, we have to take it on our chin and find a way to live with it,” he said.

Punjab Kings failed to qualify for the playoffs last year but Nicholas Pooran reckoned that his team did well and was unlucky to not make it to the top-4.

After having managed just one win in their first seven games, PBKS bounced back to win the next five before losing the last two to bow out of the tournament.

Pooran is hoping for a better show this time around

“To be fair, last time we did get a lot of good scores. We were scoring 180-plus. I don’t think we played bad last year. This year we again have a good team. We have a lot of power [in batting],” Pooran added.

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