\'Match against India will be an opportunity to showcase our skills\', says Holder
Manchester: Ahead of the West Indies-India match in the ongoing ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, Carribean skipper Jason Holder said that match against India is always a big occasion and the team would look to showcase their skills.
"Match against India is always a big one. We are looking forward to it. We need to finish our campaign and our objective is to win all our remaining matches. It's a matter of displaying a perfect game, tomorrow is another opportunity for us to showcase our skills," Holder told reporters.
West Indies were given a big blow in the tournament as their star all-rounder Andre Russell was ruled out of the World Cup. The team is also dealing with the injury scare of opener Evin Lewis.
However, Holder said that Lewis went for a scan today and nothing showed up, so the team would be taking a call on him tomorrow.
"Evin had a scan and nothing showed up. We will make an assessment tomorrow morning and then we will take a call," Holder said.
"Russell was playing through pain. We sat with him, he went through numerous tests and then we took a call on him," he added.
West Indies had a good start to their World Cup campaign as they thrashed Pakistan by seven wickets in their opening match. But ever since that win, West Indies have failed to spring wins and they are languishing at the eighth position in the tournament standings.
The team from the Carribean have a slim chance of qualifying for the knock-out stage as they have won just one match from six games. Holder said that is is important to learn from mistakes and seizing the crunch moments in the tournament.
"It's important for us to learn from our mistakes. We have three matches remaining in the tournament and we will look to win all our games. On numerous occasions, we did not seize the crucial moments. We were just outplayed by England, in all the other matches we were in there with a chance," Holder said.
"We have had some close games in our World cup campaign so far. Who knows what the result could have been in certain games. Other teams are seizing crucial moments and winning the crunch moments is required in a tournament like World Cup," he added.
West Indies opener Chris Gayle is playing his last World Cup and skipper Holder said that the left-hander has been a good role model as he has always been there to help.
Gayle who had said that he would be retiring from international cricket after the World Cup, earlier in the day said that his plan is to play a Test match against India later this year.
"Chris has done a hell of a job, he has always been there to help. Guys look up to him and he's an honest person so he has been good for us," Holder said.
"He really didn't say anything in the dressing room. He has a lot to offer and I hope his body can hold up. I need to have a serious conversation with him, his presence will definitely benefit us," he added.
West Indies batsmen have failed to put up big scores consistently in the tournament. The players have provided starts at the top but they have not been able to play a big knock.
"I am proud of the boys, I think Shai has done a good job so far and it's up to the guys to take the innings deeper. We need to see how Kane Williamson plays, the guys need to take a look and learn from him," Holder said.
West Indies takes on India on June 27 in Manchester.
