India vs West Indies: WI sought help from international players during CPL - Jason Holder

West Indies had a preparatory camp in Dubai before playing a two-day practice match against the Indian Board President’s XI at Baroda. Holder believes his team is adequately prepared.

West Indies captain Jason Holder revealed his players sought guidance from international stars such as Australia’s Steve Smith during the recent Caribbean Premier League (CPL) in order to prepare for the tour of India.

Rajkot: West Indies' captain Jason Holder with the teammates during a practice session ahead of the first cricket test match against India. (PTI)

“I’m sure many of the guys have had random conversations with players who’ve toured here before. Not only past West Indian players but players around the world in general. The luxury we have is that we’ve just had the CPL which obviously has international players. From the Barbados Tridents team we had Steven Smith and I’m sure at some point the players leaned on them for some guidance and expertise on how to be successful playing in Indian conditions,” Holder told media on Wednesday.

Expressing that this West Indies side, ranked eighth, has exceeded expectations in the past against stronger teams, Holder said, “We’ve been together for the last two-and-a-half years and we’ve done some pretty good things. We’ve exceeded a lot of people’s expectations. It will be a challenge but it’s only a matter for us to focus on what we need to do.”

“In the last two-three years, we’ve played some of the top teams in the world and we’ve pushed them. We’ve beaten some of the top teams in the world as well. This group has shown what it can do and it’s not about proving anything to anybody,” he added.

“All our batters have to have a gameplan and know how you’re looking to score, and how you’re looking to make runs against this quality attack in their own backyard and one of the things I spoke is patience. We’ve got to be patient but not only that we have to capitalise on any loose delivery or any opportunity to score.”

West Indies had a preparatory camp in Dubai before playing a two-day practice match against the Indian Board President’s XI at Baroda. Holder believes his team is adequately prepared.

“We have been here for a while. Obviously the guys should have been acclimatised by now,” he said.