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India vs West Indies 2018: 3 West Indies Players who can challenge India

Jason Holder - the Captain
Jason Holder - the Captain

The Franchise T20 cricket that is played all over the world has taken a heavy toll on the West Indies team in the recent past. The team had to miss out on so many international players like Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Andrew Russel, Sunil Narine, and Samuel Badree. As a result, the West Indies cricket team has become a depleted unit in the last 10 years.

The team has become so depleted that the two times World Cup Champions were relegated to play the World Cup qualifier round In Zimbabwe where they very nearly lost to Scotland. A couple of dubious umpiring decisions and the adoption of the Duckworth-Lewis method resulted in a narrow win for the West Indies by 5 runs. It would have been catastrophic had Windies failed to qualify for the World Cup.

The present West Indies team is up against the most formidable Indian team on home conditions. While India is ranked 2nd in the ICC ODI rankings, West Indies are placed at the 9th place. There is a big gulf between the two teams. Having said that, the Windies do have some quality international players who can challenge India with their individual brilliance.

In this article, we will discuss 3 of those such players.


#1. Jason Holder

Holder - The spirit of West Indies Cricket
Holder - The spirit of West Indies Cricket

Jason Holder is the captain of the West Indies team. Both Jason Holder and Darren Sammy (in the initial stages) deserve all the accolades for staying by their nation in times of turmoil.

During his tenure as captain, Holder has faced innumerable changes in the players and the coaching staff. But he has always stood by his country neglecting all the monetary benefits arising out of playing franchise cricket.

Holder is a genuine all-rounder who is capable of winning a match either with the bat or the ball. He holds the records to prove that. In 80 ODIs Holder has taken 110 wickets and scored 1262 runs.

Jason Holder didn’t play the first Test at Rajkot. But his influence on the match was felt in the second Test at Hyderabad when he took 5 wickets and scored a 50. In that Test match, Holder kept the Windies afloat for 7 sessions before the unexpected collapse in the second innings.

It was Holder who saved the West Indies in the World Cup qualifying rounds scoring a total of 211 runs and claiming 15 wickets. In Test matches in 2018, Holder has been the highest wicket-taker for the Windies with 33 wickets in 6 matches.

The West Indies team would look up to their captain to replicate his fine Test match form with the ball in ODI cricket too. The fortunes of the West Indies team would swim or sink with their captain.

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