09 March,2016 08:27 AM IST | | Arup Chatterjee
At 24 years and four months, Jason Holder is the youngest in the West Indies team that landed here on Monday. But, then, the calm and collected lad has long been thrust into a leadership role
Jason Holder
Kolkata: At 24 years and four months, Jason Holder is the youngest in the West Indies team that landed here on Monday. But, then, the calm and collected lad has long been thrust into a leadership role.
Jason Holder
If the lanky pace bowling all-rounder, on the threshold of a World Twenty20 debut, talks like a veteran, blame it on his current status in the team.
"I've known these people for some time now, so I just try to communicate and get the job done," responded Holder when asked about leading West Indies in Tests and ODI at such a young age.
"I'm still pretty young and finding my feet, and there've been so many players helping me in my journey. It's been good and I hope to continue on that path," he added to put his fast-forwarded cricket career in perspective.
Darren Sammy, who had led the West Indies to the title in 2012, is back as a World T20 skipper for the third time in succession. Holder, sitting alongside Denesh Ramdin, Samuel Badree and Carlos Brathwaite, echoed the optimism of Sammy, who had interacted with the media some half-an-hour earlier.
Coming together
For Team West Indies, the players culled from a collective pool of Caribbean countries, it's about 'coming together', a demanding process that has drawn on legacy and leadership.
"It shouldn't be difficult for him," Holder retorted when reminded that Sammy would be leading a side that hasn't had much time together as a team. "The best thing about us now is that we have guys who have either played together or against each other in various T20 leagues.
"We know each other really well and had a very good camp in Dubai, where we won the four games we played. We are all ready for this tournament," said Holder, who can pack a punch as a middle-order batsman.
The serious facade Holder presents in public was somewhat breached by Ramdin. Asked who is the real prankster in the squad, the wicketkeeper batsman pointed to Holder.
While it revealed another side to Holder, it did make him look taller than his six feet-seven as a leader.
