WEST INDIES cricket did not just lose a 29-year-old Nicholas Pooran in the prime of his career on June 9, 2025. It will be remembered as the day West Indies lost arguably its best limited-overs batsman. It lost the reigning Wisden T20 Cricketer of the Year. It lost a former captain. And most importantly, it lost its future. The effect of Pooran's shock retirement will reverberate for generations and collapse the already creaking structure keeping regional cricket afloat. The blueprint has been set. The precedent laid bare for all to see. Whatever the motive for Pooran's stunning exit, others will follow. The explosive left-hander is already an icon and mentor to many. Even his fellow Red Force and West Indies batsmen seek his counsel. The Nicky B Batting Academy has become a hit, imparting advice to youngsters on technique and the mental fortitude needed to make it on the international stage. Like it or not, the success Pooran has achieved and the path he took to get there – including turning his back on West Indies – will be replicated. West Indies have not got here overnight. There have been accusations made that some players only make themselves available when it is time for a World Cup, but prioritise rest and recovery from franchise leagues when it is time to play for the West Indies. Guyanese star Shimron Hetmyer missed not one but two flights to Australia for the T20 World Cup in 2022 and was replaced by the West Indies team. The next T20 World Cup is in eight months. It is befuddling, frightening and disappointing that Cricket West Indies (CWI) allowed Pooran to slip from their grasp. It is another drop in the slips by CWI in a game where they desperately need to hold on to everything. A number of players have been poached by England over the years: Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethel and Chris Jordan. West Indies also lost the services of an in-form Darren Bravo for two years after a feud with then CWI president Dave Cameron. It can ill-afford these misses. Unlike the other cricketing nations, West Indies is not a country. The cricketers of today do not share the social concerns and communal spirit as their predecessors in the 1970s and 1980s. Clive Lloyd, Sir Vivian Richards, Malcolm Marshall and Michael Holding kept the fire burning in Babylon. But in the modern world, Babylon has become a myth. Which child today fears or even knows what is a soucouyant or la diablesse. The history has not been passed down and players today have their own motivation. Cricket as a unifier of the oppressed people is but a chapter in an unopened book. It would be unfair to blame the modern player for not caring about what inspired those in the past. Times have changed and franchise cricket is now king. We are still looking for the panacea to our ailing cricket. The one batsman to include in the team to get the balance right. The right coach to get the best out of our cricketers. That was supposed to be Daren Sammy, the bridge between the CWI and the T20 stars. In a a media conference on March 3 he hinted at a revamp of the Test team with the best regional T20 players being lured to the longest format. He believed their skill and experience playing all over the world would augur well for the Test fortunes. Pooran's exit makes a farce out of this strategy. When T20 players cannot be convinced to play T20 cricket, what chance does he have of getting them to play the least lucrative form of the game? The international T20 schedule for 2025 for West Indies shows just 14 games: three against England, three against Ireland (June 6-15), five against Australia (July 20-28) and three against Pakistan (July 31-August 3). If Sammy could not convince Pooran to commit to 14 games in 2025 then West Indies cricket is truly doomed. The Australia T20 series is preceded by the third edition of Major League Cricket (June 12-July 13) of which Pooran is again scheduled to feature with MI New York, owned by Mumbai Indians. He recently informed CWI that he needed to skip the UK tour because he needed rest from a lengthy Indian Premier League (IPL) season. With international series competing with franchise cricket, it is an easy choice for players. According to a CWI source, Pooran was the highest paid West Indies player while under central contract. However, he and others declined historic CWI multi-year contracts in 2023. What CWI could offer was a drop in the bucket. The landscape is changing with Indian franchises owning teams in various leagues around the world. Multi-year franchise contracts are in the works for players to represent one franchise in IPL, Major League Cricket, Caribbean Premier League and International League T20. Which player in his right mind could refuse a "godfather offer" to play purely T20 matches? "We can't compete with multi-million offers," the CWI source said. Another source told Newsday, West Indies Test players earn approximately US$8,000-US$10,000 per match, US$4,000-US$5,000 for ODIs and US$1,500 to US$3,000 for T20s. For context, Indian batsman Rishabh Pant earned the highest IPL 2025 contract of US$3.2 million – for two months' work. For the first time, the IPL also introduced match fees of US$9,000 per game, The global structure has done no favours to the regional cricket board. The International Cricket Council (ICC) is but a tool of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which has formed a "Big 3" alongside England Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket Australia. They have feasted on five-course meals while CWI and other regional boards are left to survive off the crumbs. And that is all CWI is doing – surviving. With the BCCI receiving near 40 per cent of ICC revenue, how sustainable is this model? There is no genuine plan by the ICC to grow the game by maintaining this lopsided arrangement. It is a criticism also directed at Real Madrid and Barcelona in the Spanish football league as they monopolise the revenue. Yes, those that bring most to the table should eat first, but are they leaving enough for others to thrive or survive? The T20 franchise leagues have eroded the cricket calendar, even given precedence over international matches. The lucrative IPL has been factored into the CWI calendar, with no international series scheduled to clash, allowing West Indians to ply their trade. There have been reports that the IPL will be expanded from approximately two months to three months. What does that mean for international cricket and all the formats – especially Tests with its dwindling crowds? Does the ICC care, or is that the Ashes will be the only Test match that matters aside from their bi-lateral series against India? Whatever the reason for Pooran's exit – prioritising family life, financial, or feuding with the board or coach – Pooran will be remembered. His legacy is already in the West Indies and ICC history books. It will take some doing to break his record for most T20 sixes – 139 – in a calendar year. It has been ten years since a horrific car accident almost derailed his career. He has bounced back to carve his way on the international stage. His fans around the region will either have to wait for the CPL to see him in person, or travel to one of the countries where he is playing franchise cricket. Till then, we rally around the West Indies.