It feels like Jason Holder has just slipped out the back door of ODI cricket without making a sound. No press conference. No farewell post. No lap around the ground. But the signs are all there. He hasn’t played an ODI in a while, he’s not in the plans, and the door seems to have quietly closed.
In a surprising revelation on the Wisden Cricket Podcast, West Indies head coach Daren Sammy stated that Holder has retired from One-Day Internationals while remaining interested in representing the Caribbean side in Test cricket. The comment surely caught fans off guard, largely because there has been no public retirement statement from Holder, no social media post, and no official confirmation from Cricket West Indies.
Right now Holder’s out there playing for the Los Angeles Knight Riders in Major League Cricket. But Daren Sammy’s comments have pulled the focus straight back to him.
Sammy’s comments leave fans surprised
While talking about where Holder fits in West Indies’ plans going forward, Sammy let slip what sounded like a quiet farewell to ODIs. He made it clear Holder is still very much part of the Test setup. But he also mentioned that Holder has walked away from one-day internationals.
“Yes, Jason is still in the mix for Test. I know he’s retired from ODI cricket. Test cricket for sure. He has spoken about his interest, but obviously, you know, he’s a franchise player as well… it’s us talking about availability, where he fits. But yeah, he’s made clear that he’s still interested in Test cricket. So once that fits with his schedule and obviously the plans that we have, I’m pretty sure that will happen.”
Sammy added that Holder wants to keep playing Tests, though how much he’s available will come down to franchise deals and the calendar.The timing matters. West Indies head to India in late September for a three-match ODI series. If Sammy’s right, Holder won’t be on that plane. That would close the book on an ODI career that ran for more than ten years. Honestly, the bigger surprise isn’t that he’s done with ODIs. At 34, Holder has been leaning more towards Tests and the franchise circuit for a while now. We saw how he changed the Gujarat Titans (GT) fortunes this year in the IPL.
Jason Holder’s ODI record
| Matches | Runs | Bat Avg | Highest Score | Wickets | Bowl Avg | Best Figures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 138 | 2,237 | 24.85 | 99* | 159 | 36.96 | 5/27 |
Beyond the statistics, Holder joined an elite group of West Indies cricketers to score more than 2,000 ODI runs and claim over 150 wickets. His career-best bowling figures of 5/27 came against India in Antigua in 2017, while his heartbreaking unbeaten 99 against Papua New Guinea during the 2018 World Cup Qualifiers remains one of the most memorable knocks of his career.
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