He last played a Test match for West Indies against South Africa in Province in August 2024.
With the commercialisation and evolution of the T20 franchise leagues across the world, the Caribbean cricketers started to take early retirements or make themselves unavailable for the national side. Windies, who have given numerous T20 stars, have been struggling across all formats in recent times. They even failed to qualify for the 2022 T20 World Cup (for the Super 12 stage), ODI World Cup 2023 and 2025 Champions Trophy, while finishing second-last in the World Test Championship (WTC) points table across all cycles.
However, there’s one player who is still committed to West Indies cricket, despite him being in and out of the squads across formats. That player’s name is Jason Holder, who was once considered to be their future, having been named as captain at the age of just 23. Holder has played 69 Tests, 138 ODIs, and 75 T20Is but no longer has a central contract, and lacks the financial security that comes with it.
Jason Holder has now reflected on how personal goals, desired lifestyles, and future play a part in a cricketer’s career while revealing the lack of security in the West Indies side. The all-rounder mentioned that he carefully assesses the international cricket and franchise leagues schedules to decide which series or tournament he can play, emphasising that playing for West Indies is still his first priority.
“I’ve got to sit down and map out, you know, where my potential earning opportunities are and then try to marry that up with international commitment. My first priority is obviously to represent the West Indies. It’s still my priority to play international cricket, but Cricket West Indies does not give me any security,” Holder told to Sportstar.
He added, “I’m basically a freelance cricketer. So, I’ve just got to look for my own living. Decisions that I may make now, I definitely wouldn’t have made when I was a bit younger, but now I’m at a different stage in my career where I’ve got to look out for myself and look to make a decent living and ensure that I’m setting myself up for the future.”
Holder has turned out for Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League (PSL 2025) and LA Knight Riders in Major League Cricket (MLC 2025) and St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL 2025), playing a crucial role for his sides across leagues. He is also expected to play for Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in the ILT20 later in the year. The Windies star has also played 12 T20I matches for the Men in Maroon in 2025, where he has amassed 131 runs and taken 16 wickets.
ALSO READ
The 33-year-old hasn’t made himself unavailable for the West Indies despite lack of clarity. He recently made a remarkable comeback to his national side, featuring in the T20I series against England, Ireland, Australia, and Pakistan. The right-arm pacer was the leading wicket-taker for the side in the Australia and Pakistan series. The right-hand batter also produced a match-winning knock in the thriller second T20I against Pakistan, smashing 16 off 10 balls, with a boundary on the last ball.
Holder is also not turning his back on red-ball cricket either. He hasn’t appeared in Test cricket since the tour of South Africa in August 2024, but represented Barbados in first-class cricket in March earlier this year.
“I love playing for the West Indies and it’s always been at the forefront of my mind, but for whatever reason, I haven’t been able to play Test cricket in recent times. I’ve been available, but I guess it’s now a point where I’m just sitting in the wings. We’ll see what happens next,” said Holder.
With West Indies scheduled to tour India for a two-test match series (IND vs WI) next month, Holder remains hopeful for a recall. The Test series will commence from October 2 at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, with the second test to be played at Arun Jaitley stadium in Delhi from October 10.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
