Legendary West Indies pacer Michael Holding calls time on his commentary career

Legendary West Indies pacer Michael Holding has bid adieu to his commentary career after 20 years of association with Sky Sports. Holding was part of the Sky commentary team during the recently concluded Test series between India and England.

Speaking to the BBC, Michael Holding revealed that his age is the primary reason behind the decision. At 66, the West Indies great does not believe he can travel like he used to anymore and stay on the road for too long. In this regard, Michael Holding said:

"I am not too sure how much further than 2020 I will be going with commentary. I cannot see myself going much further down the road at my age. I am 66 years old now, I am not 36, 46 or 56. I told [ Sky] that I could not commit to more than a year at a time."

He continued:

"If this year gets totally destroyed, I might have to think about 2021 because I can’t just walk away from Sky, a company that has done so much good for me."

The cricketing fraternity will surely miss Holding's insights after his exit from the commentary field.

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"I think what puts people off is Bumrah’s limited run-up" - Michael Holding

Speaking to the Telegraph, Michael Holding opined that Jasprit Bumrah's short run-up would give him an edge over the batsman. He tried to dissect the reasons for Bumrah's success and said:

"I think what puts people off is Bumrah’s limited run-up and his powerful strong action that produces the pace. If he had a long rhythmical run-up and bowled with the same delivery action at the same pace, batsmen would not find it as difficult. Even Jeff Thomson and Lasith Malinga had ‘different’ actions, but they had a run-up through which batsmen could get some sort of rhythm from."

Jasprit Bumrah led the Indian pace attack during the Test series against England and played a crucial role throughout the series. His deadly spell during the second session on the fifth day of the fourth Test at the Oval on a placid pitch has won him huge praise from all corners.

With that spell, Bumrah cemented his status as one of the leading pacers of this generation.