Gujarat Titans’ Jason Holder on record 97 wickets in 2025

Jason Holder achieved a record 97 wickets in global T20 cricket last year. He is now with Gujarat Titans in the IPL but yet to play. Holder discusses his T20 success, adapting his game, and managing his body. He emphasizes mental preparation and his role supporting the team from the bench. He also shares insights on coach Ashish Nehra.

In 2025, Jason Holder lived like a T20 nomad, plying his trade from Abu Dhabi to Los Angeles, and St Kitts to Dhaka. It paid dividends. The former West Indies captain topped the global T20 bowling charts with a record 97 wickets, surpassing Rashid Khan’s seven-year-old mark of 96. The performance did not go unnoticed. Gujarat Titans picked him up at the auction for Rs 7 crore, marking his return to the IPL after three years. But with the IPL’s limit of four overseas players in the XI and GT’s strong squad, he is yet to get a game this season. The 34-year-old, though, is unfazed. He says he is “focused on what I need to do whenever I get the chance.” Holder speaks with ET Sport about the record, the demands of T20 cricket, life on the bench, GT’s chances and more. Excerpts:

Last year, you were the highest wicket-taker in global T20 cricket (97 wickets). What does this record mean to you?

It was a pretty good year. Records come, records go, so I really don't get too engrossed into them. But just pleased to know that I've been consistent over the calendar year and started this year pretty well as well in the World Cup. So, I just want to be consistent whoever I'm playing for. Just be consistent and be considered a match-winner. The most important thing for me is to win. I like to be competitive.

You've been playing international and franchise cricket for a long time now. Are you in the best form of your career?

I think that comes from a few things. I have never had a stint of only playing T20 cricket. When I was a bit younger, I was playing all three formats and a lot more international cricket. In this phase of my career, and obviously not by choice, I've been playing a lot more T20 cricket around the circuit. So, I've had the time now to delve into T20 cricket, which I've never had in the past. I put it down to that. I've been able to tailor my game a bit more towards T20 cricket now as opposed to trying to be multifaceted in the other formats and trying to keep up with the pace of international cricket.

What were the factors that worked for you last year?

It's just being aware of the situations that I'm faced with. That's the first objective. And then training the skill sets to get you through these scenarios. So, when I think about setting my game up for T20 cricket, it's putting yourself in certain scenarios that you're likely to be in. When I train, I try to replicate that and make sure that I can execute under pressure.

For me, it's pretty much a go-go period and a period where you can't chew up many balls. When I go into training, it's more or less trying to get going from ball one. Maybe hitting might be something I got to do from ball one. So just trying to tailor my game towards that. And then on the flipside when I am bowling, it's just understanding if it's a case where I need to shut the game down and be defensive or if it's a case where I can attack a little bit more and express myself, with field placement and not necessarily too much with the ball because a lot of times we feel as though we need to attack, we need to bowl all these magical balls. But it's all about being tactical and setting fielders in key positions to get batsmen out.

Did you make any changes on the mental side of your game?

I would say like now I've been able to just focus primarily on T20 cricket. It's all I played in the last year, to be honest. So mentally, my mind has been attuned to just focus on scenarios that I've been faced with in T20 cricket. When it comes to mindset and preparation, I've been able to follow a routine and stick to one that has worked for me. So, those are the things that have changed for me in the last year and a half, two years.

Physically, it must have been tough playing in so many different conditions. How did you take care of your body?

It's important to stay on top of rehab and gym. As cricketers, we always have niggles. I don't think I've played a game being 100% fit, but you find ways to manage and cope with whatever you face. To me, it's just really finding a gym routine that suits me; not too much on the strength side, not too much on the power side, but just on the maintenance side to just ensure that my body is ticking over.

If you look at the schedule of a T20 cricket tournament, there's not much time for one to train. Particularly other leagues, maybe IPL is different where you've got a lot more time in between games, but other T20 leagues are pretty much go, go, go in terms of matches coming at you thick and fast. So, time for training is not as plentiful as it may be here in IPL. So, you've got more time to focus on recovery as opposed to focus on skills. And so, to me, it's a lot more mental. That's where my game has gone to now. Gone are the days where I needed to be in the nets for 2 or 3 hours a day, trying to grind it out. My game has reached a point where I understand how I want to go about it. It's being mentally attuned and switched on when the game time comes.

That's helped me significantly because a lot of times you go into the nets and you practice but not necessarily practicing anything specific and then you end up clouding your brain with too many different things. That's not a good feeling to have. So, I just focused on recovery in between these short turnarounds and then just being mentally prepared to take on the next challenge.

Which league did you find most challenging?

When you look at most leagues, they're pretty much condensed into 4 to 5 weeks. Some may stretch to 6. So, if you've got a 6 or 8 team competition, you're pretty much looking at games every 2 to 3 days, which is tough. Sometimes you have travel in between, which makes it even more strenuous on the body. I think IPL is so unique where you've got a much longer period and you've got more time in between games to chill and recuperate for the next game. Whereas in the other leagues, it's just constant go, go, go. From that aspect, it might be more difficult on your body when it comes to playing other leagues. But when I think about the actual competition and the level of cricket now—this is my first time playing IPL in 3 years—IPL is probably the toughest league for sure.

How do you assess Gujarat Titans’ performance so far?

We're still in a decent position. I know we've had some tough losses and last game was a tough one (GT lost to Mumbai Indians by 99 runs). But generally, in terms of the mood in the camp, everything is pretty good. We know where we fell, we know what we need to do. We just need to go and execute our plans a little bit better.

You haven’t got any games so far this season. How tough is it to sit on the bench after such a great year?

Look, I'm focused on what I need to do whenever I get the chance. The management has been extremely good to me in terms of being clear. And I think a positive for me is just seeing how much the management instils the confidence in each and every player, and giving them the opportunity. I think a lot of other franchises that I've been a part of go into panic mode and chopping and changing. It's never really a great feeling as a player not knowing if you're going to actually get a really good run. But to see how GT has really embraced every player and giving them the opportunity to perform. Yes, sometimes things might not go according to plan, but the mere fact is that you're being backed, supported and given those opportunities to get it right.

It may not always go your way, which is part and parcel of the sport, but for me, sitting on the outside, it's just being ready whenever I'm called for one. It's a long tournament, I'm sure I'll get an opportunity. I've got a lot more experience and knowledge about the game that I feel I can add value to individuals. My role sitting on the outside is being a part of the discussions and helping bowlers, helping batters, helping players just to get better. And we bounce ideas off one another because ultimately, we all want the same thing, and that's the win.

So, it's about us trying to stick together and being your brother's keeper. You may not be playing one day, or your brother might be playing. It's really important that you support him. And there may come a day where the rules reverse, where he might not be playing and you are, you would want that support from him. So just being humble, being consistent and trying to add that experience that I would have gained over the years to the dressing room.

Tell us about your experience of working with coach Ashish Nehra? It’s rare to have a fast bowler as head coach. Did you discuss any specific aspect of your game?

Ashish is such a vibrant guy. He means so well and he wears his heart on his sleeves. One of the things I really appreciate about him is he gives you every single thing he's got, whether it be knowledge, whether it be energy, whether it be advice. That's something you really love to see in a head coach because to me, that sends a message throughout the dressing room. When you see a leader such as him showing that confidence, showing that support around each and every individual, giving them exactly what they need in order to be mentally or physically prepared. It says a lot.

We definitely discuss a lot of things, a lot of tactics when it comes to bowling. I think I would have played against Ashish back in the years too. So, we bounce a few things off one another. But again, I'm at the point now in my career where I feel as though I don't really need much in terms of tactics or advice in a sense, because I've gained so much experience over the years. I think for me now to come and try to cloud my mind in terms of how I go about things, it's probably the worst thing I could possibly do. And one of the biggest learnings I've taken in my career so far is just being clear, understanding my game specifically and using that to the best of my advantage out on the field.
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Source: EconomicTimes
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