Jason Holder eager to break free of ‘Test specialist’ moniker

Jason Holder has expressed his desire to keep expanding in limited-overs cricket although he is viewed as a Test specialist. Holder, captain of the West Indies Test side, was replaced by Kieron Pollard as their ODI and T20I skipper following a disastrous performance at the World Cup, and even though the all-rounder is grappling match form, the 28-year-old is hopeful of reclaiming his lost spark.

“I don’t want to just segregate myself and pigeon-hole myself to one particular format. Yes I’m the captain for the Test team but as I’ve crossed formats for a number of years, I think my sole focus has been on West Indies cricket, ideally in all three formats not only in Test cricket,” Holder told windiescricket.com.

Holder has led West Indies in successive World Cups – 2015 and 2019 but with the team performing well under Pollard, Holder may have to wait a little longer. Since the World Cup, Holder has scored just 50 runs from six games and claimed just seven wickets from 10 games at an average of 68.85 and strike rate of 75.4. With such numbers, Holder may struggle to grab a permanent spot in the West Indies’ limited-overs set-up, especially now that their batting runs deep, something that was summed up by all-rounder Dwayne Bravo.

“I love the leadership role; the leadership role for me is one where it makes me focus and drives me in a way where my performances definitely have to lead by example and I definitely have to practice what I preach. I think West Indies cricket is so diverse in many different ways and for us as players, we’ve got to understand each and every one of us has a part to play in this whole puzzle,” Holder stated further.

Last month, Holder had admitted that it was tough for him transitioning back just as a player when he was removed as West Indies captain. Even though he continues to lead the team in Tests, Holder said he was slightly taken aback with the timing of the decision.

“To be quite honest, it has been tough transitioning back just as a player. In hindsight, it has been tough trying to understand how to get back in as just a player,” Holder told the Cricket Collective podcast on TalkSPORT. “It was an interesting time for me. I had found out earlier in the tournament that we have moved as one-day international captain. For me, it was just trying to win it [the CPL].”