MUMBAI, India — Jason Holder said he and the rest of players joining the West Indies squad for three One-day Internationals against India will be looking to make an impact.
The lanky Windies fast bowler was speaking following a training session on Monday morning under a scorching sun at the Wankhede Stadium, where the visitors lost the second of two Tests last Saturday.
West Indies were swept 0-2 in the Test series, losing both matches by an innings inside three days.
“Obviously, the guys were a bit disappointed after the Test series, but we have a fresh group of players here now,” Holder told reporters after the visitors trained on Monday at the Wankhede Stadium here.
“We have some of the players from the Test side and a couple of joining players. We have got a new mindset and we have got a new focus. We just have got to focus on the one-day series.”
“We are a very confident side at the moment. It is the first series coming after our series against Pakistan at home, which wasn’t the best, but I think we have a side that can turn things around and move forward.”
On the morale in the dressing room, the 22-year-old Holder said: “The morale is very good at the moment. We have put the Test series behind us. We can’t look back and we can’t change it. Looking ahead, I just think the guys need to be positive in the first game and make their mark and get stuck into the series.
“Previously, we haven’t been playing that well in the ODI format. We had been better in the Test series leading up to this tour. This however, is a fresh series and the guys are coming off a break from ODIs, so they seem quite refreshed and looking forward to playing against the No.1 team.”
The 6-foot, 8-inch tall Holder, a graduate of the Sagicor West Indies High Performance Centre based at the Cave Hill campus of the University of the West Indies in Barbados, has played just eight ODIs for the Caribbean side, making his debut against Australia earlier this year in Perth.
He was also fortunate to have played in the Indian Premier League earlier this year for Chennai Super Kings, an experience which he believes has helped him to prepare for this series.
“I know much more about the conditions in India and what to expect, but it will be my first time in Kochi and it will be about trying to understand about the pitch there,” he said.
“A couple of guys, I guess, have played in Kochi before, so we are just going to get acclimatised and try to put the best foot forward in the first game.”