As one of only two players who was part of West Indies’ last great triumph at a global event, when they won the T20 World Cup in 2016, and as someone who has seen them slip up several times since, this competition is also an opportunity to make a statement about the state of the game in the Caribbean and his own place in it.“We’re seen as a minority in international cricket and when you’re seen as a minority, people tend to look over you or look beyond you, but I think the cream always rises to the top,” Holder says in Ahmedabad, before West Indies’ match against South Africa. “What I would love to see is a little bit more consistency from our boys. When you get a little bit more consistency, you will start to see the narrative shift.”
The story that West Indies, much like Pakistan, are an unpredictable team is one aspect of what Holder is referring to, but it goes beyond the stereotype about not knowing what kind of team will turn up on any given day. Because of the number of West Indian players (Nicholas Pooran comes to mind immediately) who opt out of international cricket, seemingly prematurely, to pursue franchise careers, West Indian players are often labelled mercenary, disloyal or uninterested and Holder has had enough of that.
“A lot of people make judgements, which is fair on their part because that’s all they see, but once you get to know individuals first-hand, you will know we have some really solid guys in this group,” Holder says. “We have guys that have purpose, guys that have morals, guys that play for the right reasons, despite what people may think. A lot of what is written about or spoken about in the press and a lot of the speculation is absolute garbage, in my opinion. We cop a lot of abuse.
“Every single time I, for example, pick up my phone or go on social media I see it. I understand that a lot of people are weak, a lot of people have way more time on their hands than they should, and that’s just sadly how the world functions, but it doesn’t move me.”
What does is the chance to start rewriting the story and turning the page from “the highest of highs”, as Holder refers to 2016, to something new.
The World Cup game against Italy was Holder’s 300th for West Indies•ICC/Getty Images
“I don’t like to dwell in the past because sometimes you get so consumed in the past and trying to replicate something that’s happened in the past that you just miss everything in front of you,” he says. “I just try to be really dialled in and have tunnel vision over what’s in front of me.
There’s Eden Gardens, where West Indies played the final then and which hosted their opening game now. And then there are Holder and Johnson Charles, the only two players who were there then and are back now to try again. But that is where the similarities end.
“The difference in this group right now is how the conversations have been. We’ve been able to be very open with one another,” Holder says. “There’s no hard feelings after tough conversations and we’ve had some very tough conversations in the recent past. We really looked at some facts and as a group we sat down and hashed it out. We’re trying to get the best for the team. It’s a cohesive unit in the sense that everybody’s pushing in the same direction, which has been really good to see. The maturity in this group is a lot greater than teams I’ve played in the past.”
It’s also different to the class of 2016, which Holder refers to as unique. “Because we had some big players back then, in the context of what they achieved in the game. If you compare those players to the ones we have now, maybe at that period in their career, you’d see that. We had [Dwayne] Bravo, we had [Kieron] Pollard, we had Chris [Gayle], guys that have really really set their mark on the international stage.”
As he spoke about those greats, the new stars were training. Romario Shepherd has just finished a net at the Narendra Modi Stadium and Sherfane Rutherford, who replaces him sends six after six several rows back, casually as if he is playing a backyard game but also fiercely, as if he was not. Holder glances at Rutherford as the ball comes sailing our way.
The likes of Dwayne Bravo might have more wickets in T20s overall but Holder is the only West Indian so far to get 100 T20I wickets – a mark he reached during the game against Scotland in this World Cup•Shubhajit Roy Karmakar/Getty Images
“Let them go as long as they can, as long as people are feeding balls to them,” he says. “They get good pleasure and good repetition in consistently seeing the ball go out of the park, so they’re forming good habits. A massive difference from the past, but these guys are very, very hungry and very cohesive. We’ve created different memories.”
Holder himself is a different person, not just in age but also in life experience. “I had a bit of an assessment period during my last injury and I realised, I just really didn’t want to be in toxic environments because that didn’t really help my mental state,” he says. “The most important thing for me is to be in environments that breed success, breed winning, and are healthy. My greatest goal is to create that environment, to make it not only comfortable for me but comfortable for everybody, and I think I’ve been doing a pretty decent job of that, trying to make everybody feel welcome.”
A starting point for him in that regard has been his pursuit of excellence over the last 18 months, in which he has become a shortest-format specialist. Apart from four Tests in July and August 2024 and two first-class matches in March 2025, Holder has only played T20s and lots of them – 92. That includes 31 for West Indies and the rest sprinkled across various leagues, including the ILT20, the PSL, MLC and CPL. The laser focus on four overs at a time has helped him hone his game in ways he never thought possible.
“My whole T20 game has improved a lot but that’s mainly because I’ve only played T20 cricket,” he says. “While playing Test cricket, I didn’t really want to tinker too much with my game or to tailor it too much towards T20 cricket, but now that I’m primarily only playing T20 cricket, I’ve really got time to focus on specific skills that pertain to the game. I’ve worked a lot on certain skills I want to improve and holistically, I’ve improved tremendously as a T20 cricketer and been able to get some really good results in the last year.”
The bulk of what Holder has focused on has been preparation and research, which, he admits, were neglected before. “I was never really one to get too statistical in terms of numbers and data but I’ve had to do a little bit of a deep dive when it comes to data and from an analytical standpoint, analysing data a little bit more thoroughly, and then that’s helped me to kind of fine-tune my T20 game a little bit more. I’ve also been a little bit more detailed and very, very specific in the way I go about my training and my skill set. I’m trying to ensure that I’m ready for any encounter.”
In this tournament, he claimed his 100th T20I wicket when he dismissed Scotland’s captain Richie Berrington in West Indies’ opener. “This one was probably a little more special because being the first to get to 100 for West Indies and also being the first to get 100 wickets in each format for West Indies is an amazing achievement,” he says. “But I’m not a big guy on stats.”
Still, 300 international caps is a feat that even someone who isn’t into numbers can celebrate. “It’s a surreal feeling to be honest. Never in my wildest dreams probably would I have imagined playing up that many games for West Indies. I’ve had a long career so far, I mean, and it’s been pretty consistent, in a sense. I was first selected in 2013 and from then to now I haven’t been left out,” he says. “I’ve been in international cricket for a long time and I’ve still got some youth left in me. I’m still enjoying the game, so I still look forward to more opportunities to play for the region. I can’t be more humble, more grateful for the opportunities that I’ve had so far, and thanks to my parents, family, friends and everybody who would have played a hand.”
Those don’t sound like the words of someone who is close to the end. Holder actually wants to add to his schedule. He has not ruled out a long-format comeback and says he wants to play some Test cricket in the near future. “If that doesn’t happen, then I don’t know, maybe the 2027 50-over World Cup is a possibility. I haven’t called time or anything yet, it’s just more or less trying to see how best I can fit to the plans of the group.”
He has, though, crossed out any possibility of leading the team again. “Not internationally,” he says. “My time has come and gone in terms of captaincy. I don’t think it’s something that is within my grasp at the minute. I would however love to stay around and help the next captain for the future.”
Holder thinks “a lot of what is written about or spoken about in the press [on West Indies] and a lot of the speculation is absolute garbage”•Ashley Allen/Getty Images
“It’s just about rallying everybody around me – and I say around me because I feel as though I bring a different energy than a lot of people within this group or within this organisation,” Holder says. “For me it’s more or less being the energy god, being the one to drive everybody in the right direction, the one keeping a smile on everybody’s faces and just really being that glue between players, management and board. I’ve experienced it from both ends: from a captaincy and leadership standpoint and also from a player’s standpoint, so I kind of know what’s needed in terms of player settlement. For lack of a better phrase, I just try to be that guy to help mend that gap between the top level and the players.”
Is that gap closing?
“It’s a work in progress,” Holder says. “We’ve struggled a lot recently for the last few years, financially, which has obviously plagued us in a way, but things are somewhat settling. There’s still a lot to be done within the organisation from a structural standpoint and maybe that might be an ongoing battle, even after I finish my playing career. That might be a capacity I could potentially have some input into.”
Not before he tries to impact results on-field and ensure he leaves West Indies cricket in a better place than it was when he started. “From an achievement standpoint, I’ve had a lot of personal great moments and things I can look back on and be proud of, but holistically, as a group and as a region, that’s where the disappointment is within my career,” he says. “I don’t have regrets but that’s one thing I always look at: to try and get better and have an infectious attitude to spread through the group so everybody can be on the same page. The guys are a lot more gelled together than previous teams that I probably would have played in. With support from the top level, support from within, now this group can do a lot more.
“Ultimately, the most important thing is winning. I’ve been in teams that have had a lot of punishment over the years as well too, so it’d be good for that not to happen again in what is probably the latter half of my career. It would be good to find some more Ws and, you know, lift some more trophies.”
Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo’s correspondent for South Africa and women’s cricket
