10 facts about Jason Holder: Youngest West Indian captain ever

Young Jason Holder, who is a towering figure and reminds every one of the tall, fast West Indian bowlers, has been one of the finds for the West Indian cricket in the last 3 years or so. Holder who has been the captain of the side for more than a year now has impressed everyone by his ability to lead an inexperienced and complex side.

Here are 10 facts about the young superstar of the Caribbean cricket:

1. Birth

Jason Omar Holder was born on November 5, 1991 in Barbados. He is a brilliant all-rounder with equally good batting abilities and admirable leadership qualities.

2. Debut

Jason Holder made his debut for the West Indies against New Zealand in the Barbados Test on 26^th June, 2014. He picked up 2 wickets in the match and scored 38 and 52 in the two innings. His ODI debut came against Australia in Feb of 2013 at Perth. West Indies were shot out for 70 runs and he picked up the lone Australian wickets to fall in the chase.

3. IPL

Jason Holder was a surprise pick by the Chennai Super Kings side in the IPL in 2013, a couple of days after making his ODI debut. He played some matches and impressed everyone by his ability to bowl at good speeds and his ability to hit big shots down the order.

He will play for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League in 2016, after his team Chennai Super Kings were suspended from the league for two years.

4. All-round skills

Jason Holder is categorised as a genuine all-rounder and is record suggests the same. He averages 27 in Test cricket with the bats and has a century to his name. While in ODIs, he averages 23 with 2 fifties to his name. His bowling in the Tests has been a bit lacklustre with 21 wickets at an average of 39 and in ODIs he has 48 wickets in 35 matches in his young career.

5. Youngest Captain

In an effort to change the situation of the West Indies cricket selectors decided to not go back to a known name and appointed Jason Holder as the captain of the team in both Tests and ODIs. Holder had played 8 Tests before becoming the captain of the side and became the youngest captain of West Indies team at 23 years and 72 days of age.

6. Appeared in a documentary

He has appeared in the famous documentary ‘Fire in Babylon’, based on the early years of the West Indian cricket. He plays a bowler at the introduction of the documentary.

7. Captained West Indies in the World Cup 2015

Jason Holder was made the captain of West Indies team that went to the quarterfinals of the ICC World Cup 2015. They lost the quarterfinals to the New Zealand team by 143 runs after Kiwis made 393/5 thanks to Martin Guptill’s 237*.

8. Back to back half centuries in World Cup

Jason Holder made back to back fifties in the ICC World Cup 2015. Unfortunately, both of his fifties came in a losing cause. His first fifty came against South Africa who scored 408 runs, with AB de Villiers making 162, with 64 runs off Holder’s last 2 overs. Holder made 56.

Next fifty came against India where he made 57 runs, but West Indies could only make 182 runs and lost by 4 wickets.

9. Big Money in IPL

Holder was brought for his base price $20,000 by Chennai Super Kings for the IPL 2013 and during the recently held IPL auctions in February 2016, The Sunrisers Hyderabad brought him for INR 50 lakhs, since his team Chennai Super Kings were suspended.

10. One of the tallest players in international cricket today

At 6 feet 7 inches Jason Holder is one of the tallest cricketers in international cricket and one of the few still playing the game. He is the same height as one of his idols in Curtly Ambrose.