Jason Holder

It is no surprise that a tall West Indian will want to become a fast bowler. With a rich history of fast bowlers coming from the Caribbean shores, Jason Holder despite being 6 ft 6 is an out medium pacer. He nips the ball around in seaming conditions and hits the deck well especially in surfaces where there is not much for the pacers. He is a reliable lower middle-order batsman and also has the ability o play the big shots. 

The lanky medium pacer’s leadership abilities were spotted by the selection panel which was headed by former World Cup-winning skipper Clive Llyod. Giving him the ODI captaincy in 2014 was a big call. Holder was just 23 and in less than a year, he was also handed over the captaincy duties in the longest format. Holder has been the face of West Indies in the recent past especially given the fact that he has to deal with a tumultuous situation all the time owing to the pay disputes with the board. 

Holder was born in Barbados and took interest in cricket at an early age. In 2009, he was awarded the prestigious Lord Gavon Award in 2009. He was included in the West Indies U 19 squad for the 2010 World Cup. He had already made his first-class debut a month ago. He finished as the leading wicket-taker for the West Indies U 19 team and was soon drafted into the national side for the tour of Bangladesh in 2011 replacing Tino Best. 

However, a place in the XI still eluded him. He finally made his debut against Australia a few months later. He had to wait for his chance in the longest format. After a pay dispute with the top cricketers, the board formed a new team and gave the leadership to Holder. He was still establishing himself at the highest level so it was definitely a tough ask for him to get the reigns of Windies in a rebuilding phase. 

Despite the lack of experience, Holder did a commendable job as far as leadership was concerned. He led the Windies without much success but it was understandable especially given the fact that none of the players in the team had enough experience. Holder got the first taste of IPL in 2013 when he was picked by the Chennai Super Kings. He didn’t get to play a single game and was subsequently picked up by the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2016. 

He remained unsold in the 2019 and 2020 Auctions but an injury to Mitchell Marsh in the first match of the ongoing IPL brought Holder in the reckoning and he was signed by the Sunrisers Hyderabad as his replacement. He hasn’t played a match yet for SRH in the ongoing season so far. 

Despite being a predominantly bowling all-rounder, Holder has played some stunning knocks, especially in the longest format. It was in 2015 that Holder showed his class with the bat when he smashed a maiden match-saving century against England. However, his array of strokes and his effortless batting against pace and spin was evident during a sensational knock of 202 of 229 deliveries which included 23 fours and 8 sixes. It was sheer dominance from Holder. Courtesy impressive performances in the series, West Indies managed to win a Test series against England after a long time. 

Holder has also led West Indies in the 2015 and 2019 World Cups but West Indies were unable to make a substantial mark in both the tournaments. He was given the task of helping West Indies qualify for the 2019 event, let alone do well in it. Despite getting criticized for his captaincy, the West Indies selectors have always backed him and it has paid rich dividends in the recent past.