Jason Holder sent an early reminder for his place in the West Indies’ T20 World Cup 2026 squad. After power-hitting all-rounder Andre Russell’s retirement, there was a huge void left in the West Indies squad, and Holder can be the perfect piece to fill that puzzle.
The tall all-rounder has produced a stellar all-round show, taking four wickets in the historic first T20I clash against Nepal at Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah on Saturday (September 27).
Jason Holder used his variation smartly and was relentless with accuracy. Opening the bowling, Holder delivered an early breakthrough for the side, dismissing an aggressive opener, Aasif Sheikh, for three. He ended his first spell with 12/1 in two overs.
Stand-in skipper Akeal Hosein next brought Holder into the attack in the 16th over, where he conceded just three runs, mixing the lengths and pace brilliantly. The tall pacer then returned to bowl the 19th over and break the back of Nepal’s middle-order, picking three scalps in one over, including the wicket of Dipendra Singh Airee, who holds the record for fastest T20I fifty off just nine balls against Mongolia. His other two victims were Karan KC and Sundeep Jora, who returned to Nepal’s international side after nearly two years. As a result, Holder finished with 4/20 off his four overs that saw Nepal managing just 148/8, which could have been 155-160 as well.
However, Nepal must have been happy with the score on the board as they were reeling at 34/2 after the powerplay. It was the captain Rohit Paudel and Kushal Malla who built the foundation. Despite none of the Nepal batters playing till the end, the cameos along the way took them to a respectable total. But Holder’s spell proved not to be enough as the West Indies batting surrendered against Nepal bowlers, managing just 129/9 in reply.
Holder has been in stunning form since his T20I return against England earlier this year. He has been the standout performer for the side, particularly with the ball. He was the second leading wicket-taker during the home series against Australia (7) and on the Ireland tour (3). The 33-year-old took six wickets in three matches against Pakistan, the second most in the three-match series after Mohammad Nawaz.
In the calendar year, the right-arm pacer has taken 20 wickets in just 13 T20 international matches, averaging 21.85 and a modest economy of 9.01, including two four-wicket hauls. Apart from this, the Caribbean all-rounder is the leading wicket-taker across leagues and international cricket this year, surpassing Noor Ahmad (72). Holder now has 75 scalps to his name in just 51 matches, averaging 21.78 and an impressive economy of 8.60, which also included six four-wicket hauls.
Apart from this, the right-hand batter has scored 186 runs for the side, including a match-winning 30-run knock against Pakistan in Launderhill. His strike rate reads at an impressive 163.75 with 13 fours and 14 sixes under his belt in the calendar year, and could be dangerous at the end.
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Nepal registered a historic first-ever win against a Test-playing nation, the West Indies. This is also their first win against a full member nation. They won against Afghanistan in the 2014 World Cup, but Afghanistan was an associate team then.
This also marked the West Indies’ fourth loss against the Associate team. They have suffered losses against Ireland in 2014 and Afghanistan in the 2016 T20 World Cup, when both teams were associate members. Recently, the Men in Maroon lost against Scotland at Hobart in the 2022 World Cup.
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