Jason Holder A lanky tall all rounder considered opting out of the tour to Australia to concentrate on his fitness and upcoming T20I world cup. Citing that this might influence badly on the cricketing counterparts Jason Holder opined about his stance and has confirmed that Test matches or playing for the country would always be a priority to him but just as a bigger tournament approaching later he sights to manage his workload.
With the T20I World Cup to be held in the West Indies and The United States in June 2024, six months down the line many star players have decided to manage their workloads during the bilateral ODI and test series for their respective countries in order to stay fit for this cricketing extravaganza.
The World Cup in the Caribbean Islands and The United States of America will be preceded by a grueling 2 and a half months of IPL which would be termed as a tournament of practice for many international players as well as the 2 and a half month tournament will provide the respective countries team management an fair idea to select their squads for the big ticket in cricketing world.
Two time T20 World cup Champions West Indies a formidable force in T20Is and after their debacle by not qualifying for the ICC Men’s World Cup 2023 earlier this year, West Indies has set its clear goal to lift the elusive trophy for the 3rd time when the tournament happens in their own backyard. This enabled some of their key players to miss out on the tour to Australia in 2024 and rather concentrate on the T20I s.
It’s not curtains for me in Test cricket – Jason Holder
West Indies have included seven uncapped players for the two-Test series Down Under in January next year, with the touring party set to be without Holder and Kyle Mayers. Even with a full-strength squad, the West Indies were easily beaten by Australia in the series last year.
West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder has asserted that playing Test cricket is still one of his topmost priorities despite opting out of the red-ball matches in Australia. The Barbadian believes it’s best for him to play as much T20 cricket as possible in the lead-up to the World Cup next year.
Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Jason Holder admitted that opting out of Australia tour was a difficult decision, but it is also the right one.
“By no means is this me turning my back on Test cricket. It’s not curtains for me in Test cricket by any means. It’s my first time going through something like this and I felt that it was necessary to be as honest and as open with CWI as I possibly can. It was a very difficult decision: I just feel as though this is the right cricketing decision for me at this time,” said Jason Holder.
The seam-bowling all-rounder elaborated that he will feel good, knowing he has given himself the best chance of featuring in the T20 World Cup.
“It was a difficult one. But as much as I love Test cricket, I want to give myself the best chance of playing in that World Cup,” he said. “I felt it was probably best to prioritise and focus on playing as much T20 cricket leading up to that as possible. I will probably sleep a little bit better knowing that I’ve given myself the best opportunity to do that.” he added
The 32-year-old feels West Indies have a great chance of winning the T20 World Cup next year and he is keen do it for their passionate fans. On this, Holder said further.
With the World Cup 2024 in their own backyard and players opting to skip major series in lead up to the event it would be interesting to see how West Indies do well in their own backyard .