5 West Indies players who deserve a chance despite the team's struggles
Windies cricket is in complete shambles right now. Well, the team which was once world champion can now barely compete with the bigger teams. They look like a bunch of jaded, tired and uninterested players put on a park to play cricket, especially in test cricket.
And to make matters worse, all their star players like Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and many more are not involved in the scheme of things due to contract and payment issues with the WICB.
This leaves us with the current Windies test team which lacks experience, and a lack of big match exposure. They have been criticised by former players on various occasions for not showing pride and honour while representing their country.
Amidst all this, there are players who have shown promise and who, through their performances, inspire some confidence and hope for Windies fans and cricket fans across the globe.
Here are 5 players who deserve a chance despite their team's struggles.
#1 Jason Holder
As a young 23-year-old bursting into the international scene, Jason Holder showed a lot of promise with his effective swing bowling. His height is a big bonus, which he has capitalised on to get extra bounce from listless decks.
In the current turmoil which has engulfed the Windies cricket team, Holder needs to be appreciated for the unimaginable amount of courage and grit he has displayed. His stint as captain so far, sadly, hasn’t yielded much success for his team.
With all the big, dependable players out of the national team, Holder had to take leadership of a team when probably the only known faces in his team were batsmen Marlon Samuels and Darren Bravo.
Keeping in mind the fact that he’s got a second string side, his contribution as a player must be appreciated- what with a batting average of 29.24 and 43 test wickets from 24 matches.
A lot has been said about sacking Holder as the captain- but one mustn’t forget that this team is in transition and they need to get more exposure in various conditions before they can start to compete well against all oppositions across the world.
We should ‘not forget the fact this very team under Holder’s captaincy was able to show extreme resilience and skill to draw a game against India recently when it looked like they were down and out, and they also managed to beat Pakistan at Sharjah which not too many teams have been able to do.
Every leader needs time to show positive results, and when all odds are stacked up against you then it becomes even more important for fans to support their captain.
Amidst all the negative talk about him, Windies should persist with Holder as he has shown the required temperament and skill set to probably get Windies out of this shambolic state they find themselves in.