My main focus right now is shorter formats: Holder

West Indies players train at the ICC Cricket Academy in Dubai.

His position as Test captain may be on the line but Jason Holder has said his main focus at the moment was on the Twenty20 as well as the ODI series against Pakistan.
There has pressure on Holder to deliver results in the longer format with the 24-year-old yet to taste a Test victory in nine matches at the helm.
Holder became the 15th youngest of all time for any Test nation as well as the second youngest of all time for the West Indies when he was named Test captain last year. But despite showing some grit and gumption, more recently in the home Test series against India, his team are yet to notch a win. They lost 2-0 to Sri Lanka, 2-0 to Australia as well as 2-0 to India.
The West Indies will play three Tests, including the first day-night Test in the UAE against the No.1 Test team in the world - Pakistan. And the West Indies media are reporting that there is pressure on Holder to come up with results during the series.
But Holder is not thinking too far ahead and said that he would cross that bridge when it comes.
"There is a long way to go before we get to the Test series. We have two series to play before that. So we will see about the Test series later. My main focus here is the T20 right now, followed by the ODIs," Holder said at an informal press briefing after the West Indies practice session at ICC Cricket Academy on Saturday.
"Each format has equal value for us, but it is important that we take it as it comes. We have the T20 series first and I think we need to deal with that first. It's an important series and we want to keep our ranking very high. In the ODIs, we need to improve that. We had a very good tri-nation series against Australia and South Africa, so we want to improve further.
"The Test series comes in the end. Of course, we are looking to improve in Tests. We are coming off a tough Test series against India, so that should help," he added.
Holder, who is also the ODI captain, hoped that a winning start would set the ball rolling for the rest of the series.
"We are just looking to start the series well. It is important that we start the series well. We are coming off a very good win against India in the T20 series. We are coming in with a bit of confidence and hopefully, we can carry it in the heat here in Dubai," he said.
West Indies, the World T20 champions, take on Pakistan over three T20 Internationals in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
The West Indies will not have some big names like Chris Gayle with a couple of new faces coming into squads for the T20 and the ODIs.  But Holder said that the new guys will cope with the demands of international cricket.
"It's obviously a big loss to lose certain players, but obviously, we have some very capable players in the dressing room to fill their boots," Holder said.
"Evin Lewis was called up at the last minute to replace Chris Gayle, and we saw what he did (100 against India at Lauderhill). I don't think we are short on personnel. It's just a matter of everyone getting in and getting used to international circuit," he added.
And Holder saw some bright new prospects who could make a mark.
"Starting with the T20s, we have the young Rovman Powell, who has had a very good Caribbean Premier League (CPL). Then there is Nicholas Pooran (wicketkeeper), who is a very good talent. Those two really stand out for me. And we have been told Kesrick Williams will be replacing Andre Russell. He is a very prospect as well. So, we have some pretty young, exciting guys in the T20s," said the Barbadian.
james@khaleejtimes.com