"It's not curtains for me in Test cricket" - Jason Holder on opting out of Australia series
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.
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.
Speaking to ESPN Cricinfo, 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," he said. "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."
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."
West Indies have won the T20 World Cup twice but crashed out of the qualifiers in Australia. The Caribbeans also failed to qualify for the main draw of the recent 50-over World Cup.
"I've never played a World Cup at home" - Jason Holder
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 added:
"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?"
The T20 World Cup 2024 is scheduled to begin on June 4.