Graeme Smith and Brian Lara back Jason Holder to earn respect of West Indies team

Jason Holder has only played 8 Tests as of now

Graeme Smith, who was himself named captain of South Africa as a 22-year-old, has hailed the appointment of young Jason Holder as West Indies captain. The 23-year-old was named as Denesh Ramdin's successor for the two-Test series against Sri Lanka that gets underway in Galle on October 14.

Holder led his team with dignity and honour in the World Cup 2015, where despite missing key players because of disputes between players and the WICB, the team battled back from an early defeat against Ireland to reach the quarter-finals, where they eventually lost to the finalists, New Zealand.

Smith warned that Holder would face as many challenges from outside the dressing-room as from within it.

"I think he's got to understand the unique challenges within West Indies cricket," Smith told ESPNcricinfo. "From my perspective I had to do that in South African cricket also. It took me three or four years to come to terms with it."

"I think when I was 26, I had captained South Africa for four years and I only really started figuring it out then. I think that next period was probably my best period as captain, when I understood my team, the type of players I had, myself as a leader, and how I wanted the team to play."

Holder will get respect of teammates: Lara

Graeme Smith was handed the unenvious job of rescuing South African cricket after the Cronje-scandal had torn the team apart, and the former opener made his mark by amassing a lot of runs. He says Holder will have to take a similar stand, keeping the politics out of the field of play.

“When there's a lot of politics, it's tough. He's got to find a way of galvanising that environment, and create a culture within that team space where the players want to play for him, want to do well.”

Graeme Smith made the statements on the sidelines of the Help for Heroes charity match, where Holder found another backer in Brian Lara, who opined that Holder had all the makings of a captain who can command the respect of his players and all the islands in his nation.

"He's a tall, good-looking guy," said Lara. "Nobody would have backed Clive Lloyd into a corner back in the day, looking for a fight. I don't think anyone is going to back Jason Holder into a corner. I think he's going to get a lot of respect from his team-mates.”