IPL 2021: I Could Have Made More Money But Always Had The Desire To Play For West Indies: Jason Holder

Former West Indies Test captain and one of the premier all-rounders in the world, Jason Holder opened up about the conflicts players face when they have to choose between playing for their country and lucrative T20 leagues all over the world.

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In an exclusive interview with Headstrong: An Innings With, Holder said that the West Indies players who do have options to play for rich T20 leagues around the world have to make a tough call of country vs livelihood and big money. He added that barring himself he does not know any prominent West Indian player who rejected the offer of playing in such leagues in order to represent the country.

“Those are the hardest players to manage because they’ve got options. Players who’ve been committed to West Indies cricket don’t have many options outside, probably, of myself no one has turned down other contracts to play for West Indies,” said Holder.

Jason Holder was the Test skipper of the West Indies till March 2021 when he was replaced by Kraigg Brathwaite. Holder led West Indies for a period of five and a half years in which he let go of many opportunities to play franchise cricket around the world.

“I could sit down here and safely say I’ve passed up a lot of money to play for West Indies. I could have been a lot more well off than I am. I consider myself really blessed because I’ve made a lot of money in my life for a guy my age…but I probably could have made a lot more but I’ve always had that desire to play for West Indies.”

Holder added that during his early years there was no T20 cricket and the only way to do well was to play for the national team at the international level.

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“Coming up there was never T20 cricket so the only way to make your mark was to play international cricket. I would honestly say I don’t know if I would make the same decisions if I was older at that stage,” stated Holder.

Holder said he was lucky that he got to play for the West Indies at the early age of 21 which is not the case with most players. He added that he would not blame a cricketer who is in the middle stages of his career if he accepted a more tempting offer to play franchise cricket.

“I had age on my side. Whereas a guy might come into the West Indies team at 28 or 27. He’s got a different scenario in front of him so I can’t be upset with a guy who wants to run around the world at 28 years old with an insecure future with West Indies cricket and miss out on an opportunity to make a living for himself on the circuit.”

He however expressed disappointment with the West Indies cricket board for not being very understanding of the needs and demands of the players and not taking a flexible approach to the country vs franchise cricket debate.

“My disappointment, however, comes when players like myself give up so much to commit to West Indies cricket and then West Indies cricket isn’t as accommodating as they possibly can There have been a few instances where I’ve been very disappointed in how things were handled,” added Holder.

Holder said he felt as he was getting older he could afford to be a little more selfish keeping his personal interest in mind.

“At 29, I kind of fall into that middle phase of my career now. I’ve got to be a little bit more selfish now. I’ve got the world in front of me in terms of options. I don’t have to play international cricket. I can play anywhere I want around the world. I’ve played in England with county cricket, I’ve played in Australia so opportunities are always in front of me in terms of making money.”

Holder said that there are still a lot of opportunities all over the world to play competitive cricket and make a good livelihood. He said he wanted to strike a balance between playing for the West Indies and represent various T20 leagues around the world.

“I’ve always been a firm believer that things will happen for me when they’re supposed to happen and I know I’ll make money, I can’t make back what I’ve lost but there’s a lot more money out there to be made. I’m now at a crossroads where I’m not going to give up on West Indies cricket but I’ve got to think about how I can open up my calendar year for a few more tournaments around the world.”

Holder is currently playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2021 in India.

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