Exclusive | Jason Holder reveals West Indies' special game plan for Virat Kohli

After an enthralling Asia Cup 2018 victory, India are set to lock horns with West Indies starting October 4 to November 11 in a complete series of 2 Tests, 5 ODIs, and 3 T20Is. While Indians have displayed their mettle in their home conditions and are regarded as one of the finest teams in the world to play at their own backyard, the West Indies side have some fine talent to test the character of the Indian team and any complacency by the Indian team could harm them big time.

Ahead of the West Indies tour of India, Caribbean skipper Jason Holder had an exclusive chat with News Nation as he spoke about the young West Indian team, Virat Kohli, the spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, and his personal goals from the tough tour of India.

“Currently we are getting used to the conditions as the boys have arrived just a couple of days back. Some of the guys from the team were heavily involved with the T20 competitions, like the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), so we need to settle down quickly and work hard for the tour,” says Jason Holden when asked about how the preparations going on ahead of the tour.

Overseas teams visiting India have recently struggled to handle the spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in Test format, while the dangerous duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav have demolished some of the best batting line-ups in the shorter format of the game in Indian conditions, which are heavily spin-friendly.

ALSO READ: Asia Cup 2018 Final: 10 interesting stats as India win by 3 wickets

“Well, we need to have a clear game plan on how we will tackle their spinners. Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have done extremely well at their home conditions and are world class on their day and we need to be positive with our approach,” the 26-year-old said.

When asked about the young West Indian side and the talent they have in their cavalry, Holder said, “Our top order batsmen need to stake their claim for putting in some performances for the team, we have a good balance in the side and some of the players are coming from a good CPL season and are confident to take on India and I am excited to see what the guys can do.”

ALSO READ: ICC announces updated version of DLS system, ICC Code of Conduct 

Meanwhile, Virat Kohli have been in tremendous form, scoring runs freely for India – be it in any format of the game. Kohli battered the bowlers and scored 593 in 5 Tests during the recently concluded tour of England.

When asked about Virat Kohli and how the West Indies side are preparing to restrict him, Holder said, “He is obviously a class player, but it is possible to get him out. We just need to be disciplined on the field with our approach and build pressure to get the best result out and make it difficult for Virat and other batsmen.”

Talking about personal goals and his targets ahead of the West Indies tour of India, the all-rounder said, “Whatever I do to assist the team is the key for me, obviously I have done reasonably well with both bat and ball in the recent past and I am looking forward to continuing that form. I don’t set personal goals apart from helping the team and help the process of winning a game. We are confident of winning the series and I am looking forward to it.”

ALSO READ: Did Cristiano Ronaldo rape American model in Las Vegas?

West Indies play their opening game of the 2-match Test series against India, starting October 4 at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot.