Holder's ability to sustain pressure makes him central to GT's success

Holder only began playing in the seventh match of GT's campaign, and has taken 13 wickets in six games since

It took Gujarat Titans (GT) until their seventh game of the IPL 2026 campaign to give Jason Holder a go. In the six matches since his inclusion, he has claimed 13 wickets and GT have won five and are on track for a top-two finish in the league stage.

Holder's six-game run has included two player-of-the-match awards. He could easily have had more were it not for some equally brilliant spells from his team-mates. His 3 for 20 in four overs against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) was slightly overshadowed by Kagiso Rabada's match-shaping 3 for 28. He also ran through Rajasthan Royals' lower order with 3 for 12 in 2.3 overs, wrapping up a game set up by Rashid Khan's masterful 4 for 33 in Jaipur.

It is hardly surprising that Holder, 34, has carried forward his T20 bowling form from last year, when he took 99 wickets in the calendar year - the most by any bowler in T20 history. And with GT realising that Holder's Test-match-style seam bowling offered more value than Glenn Phillips' batting and occasional offspin, an already strong first XI has only been strengthened.

The impact shows up on ESPNcricinfo's MVP charts, too. Phillips, owing to GT's top-heavy batting order and his own missed opportunities with the bat, sits 165th out of 192 players in per-match impact in IPL 2026. Holder, meanwhile, is 18th overall and second among GT players, behind only Rabada. If you clean up the stats with a minimum cut-off of five games this season, Holder soars up to 11th on per-match impact.

According to Vikram Solanki, GT's director of cricket, Holder's biggest contribution has been his ability to sustain the pressure created by new-ball bowlers Rabada and Mohammed Siraj. That pressure has translated into wickets not only for Holder himself, but also for Prasidh Krishna and Rashid through the middle overs.Jason Holder has sustained the pressure that Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj have built with the new ball•BCCI

"Jason, since he has come in, he has done a great job for us, particularly with the ball, when we've had good start - as far as the two opening bowlers are concerned - but he has been that guy that is coming to maintain that sort of pressure on opposition," Solanki said in Kolkata ahead of their penultimate league game against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). "And he's done that very skilfully, but also with a lot of experience in the calm sense. Jason obviously understands this game very well."

"He is somebody that's vastly experienced, and I think he brings all of that experience to the team, whether it be with the ball, whether it be just his presence and speaking to people around the team. Or, if he gets the opportunity with the bat.

"We're very grateful to have Jason as a part of our team, both as a cricketer, and as a person, and for his experience."

Holder may not have arrived with the fanfare of GT's headline names, but his role has quickly become central to how their bowling attack flows. GT have always been about wanting bowlers who have experience, offer control amid the recent trend of batting fireworks, and keep up the relentless pressure. And Holder has embodied all three.