AUS vs WI: Jason Holder To Retire From Test Cricket After Pulling Out From Central Contracts? All Rounder Send Shockwaves

West Indies pacer and Former Captain of the team, Jason Holder has claimed that he still has a lot more test cricket left in him after the 32-year-old pulled out of an upcoming 2-match Test series against Australia at the Land Down Under. He stated that the longest format of the game remains his utmost priority but the T20 World Cup next year at home is the reason why Jason Holder is reluctant to play test cricket at the moment.

The Barbados-born Bowling All-Rounder believes that playing more and more T20 cricket will help him prepare for the T20 World Cup next June. He is currently on duty with the West Indies national team hosting the reigning World T20 champions England at home. West Indies, after winning the 3-match ODI series by 2-1, claimed victories in the first 2 T20Is before losing the next 2 matches of a 5-match series.

The T20 series is currently level at 2-2 and it is perfectly set for a final clash at the Brian Lara Cricket Stadium tomorrow. Holder as always is playing a key role in the West Indies team which will be hoping to add a 3rd T20 World Cup title next year.

Meanwhile, for the Test series against Australia which starts from 17th January, West Indies have added 7 uncapped players into the squad. Other than Jason Holder, Kyle Mayers is going to be another major absentee from the Windies team. It will not be an easy task for West Indies to beat the reigning Test and One Day champions that too on their soil.

“By No Means Is This Me Turning My Back On Test Cricket”, says Jason Holder

While speaking about his decision to pull out from the test series against Australia, Jason Holder claimed that he feels it is the right thing for him to do at the moment, cricketing-wise. He also said that even though it was a tough decision, Holder is happy to remain transparent with the West Indies Cricket Board about his decision.

“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.” – Jason Holder said.

Jason Holder also claimed that he is very happy knowing that the T20 World Cup is being co-hosted by West Indies and the USA, which is going to be his first World Cup edition on home soil. “I’ve never played a World Cup at home: I really, really want to be a part of it because I love playing in front of the fans in the Caribbean. I think we’ve really got a good chance of lifting the trophy… the cricket that we’ve been playing in the last couple of months gives us real encouragement that we can go there and do something special. Why wouldn’t I want to give myself the best chance to be a part of it?” – Jason Holder concluded.

West Indies Test squad vs Australia: Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Alzarri Joseph (vc), Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Kirk McKenzie, Alick Athanaze, Kavem Hodge, Justin Greaves, Joshua DaSilva, Akeem Jordan, Gudakesh Motie, Kemar Roach, Kevin Sinclair, Tevin Imlach, Shamar Joseph, Zachary McCaskie