Former Indian pacer Ajit Agarkar said that West Indies should add all-rounder Jason Holder to their lineup for their T20 World Cup game against Bangladesh on Friday. He also stated that the former skipper could be the X-factor that was missing in their first two games.
However, Holder, who earlier was a part of the travel reserves, was included in the main squad after the left-arm seamer Obed McCoy got injured. While speaking with ESPNcricinfo, Ajit Agarkar said that Jason Holder can bring consistency to the team, who are currently struggling in the Group 1 points table. He also feels Jason Holder can replace Ravi Rampaul, who has been failing to do well so far.
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“West Indies should play Jason Holder right away. Because when you look at their batting, despite having strong names, they are underperforming hugely. Holder can replace Ravi Rampaul. Another problem West Indies are facing is that they are lacking an X-factor in their bowling department. At least Jason brings you that consistency. He’s a stable batter as well, who will definitely help his side,” Ajit Agarkar said.
However, Jason Holder, who has played 199 matches for West Indies, including 27 in the T20I format, did quite well while playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2021.
“West Indies should drop Hetymer/Pooran and play Roston Chase. He can play that consolidating role in the batting line-up and also has a power game as well. He, being a right-hander, can get into the mix of so many left-handers in the team,” said Agarkar.
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Meanwhile, Agarkar wasn’t happy with the dismal batting form of Nicholas Pooran. After a poor IPL, Pooran has couldn’t bounce back in the T20 World Cup as well. He could only manage to score 13 runs in two matches thus far.
“Nicholas Pooran has been a huge disappointment. The way he’s playing, it doesn’t seem like he’s learning from his failures on how to score runs. We can just hope that he proves to be successful one day, because of the sheer abilities he has,” Ajit Agarkar further added.
