The Windies captain, Jason Holder has already gained a lot of experience after the leading the team in 26 Tests (won 7, lost 14, drawn 5) as skipper, and now he is well aware of the fact that Test cricket is a hard-fought battle and fortunes have not exactly swung his way. In recent times, the Caribbeans have tasted some success in Test cricket as their skipper 28 wickets in five home Tests against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and come to India after taking his first 10-wicket haul.
Holder would like to forget his series against India at home in 2016. His one wicket came at 239.00 while his career average is a just under 30 (81 wickets in 34 Tests). During a media interaction, Holder named fast bowler Shannon Gabriel (111 wickets at 29.58 in 37 Tests) as the leader of the pack and said that this was great opportunity for his young team to ply its trade against the world’s top-ranked Test side.
The Windies skipper explained, “We have played some really good cricket in recent times. Quite a few of our guys really stood out individually and we have to keep that collective strength. India is the No.1 Test team. It will be a good test for us. We have to just focus on the two Test matches.”
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Asked whether the practice match was enough to get used to the local conditions, Holder said, “It’s been good. Our last two Test series were very good. I don’t want to dwell too much in the past; we have a big series ahead of us, a big winter to be precise. So the focus is on that and to play good cricket. He has been around for a while and doing well. The conditions could favour him a bit more here. We expect him to come into play in this series and be a match-winner.”
The West Indies captain said that the seam attack, which revolves around Gabriel, Roach and himself, has an opportunity to enhance its skills in the Indian conditions and against some world-class players.
Holder is ready to bank on his team to extend the good display they demonstrated in the home series. He said, “We had a good home series dominated by the fast bowlers. The conditions there are a little bit different from what we have here. The fast bowlers have to make some adjustments. It’s a good opportunity for them to enhance their skills.”
