"I thought our batters weren't able to answer the call," remarked West Indies skipper Jason Holder after their loss to India in Jamaica. Only one West Indies batsman managed to score a fifty across the series. Holder's batting group earned an unenviable distinction of recording their poorest ever average (14.95) in any Test series. West Indies' winless record against India, in Tests, now stretches back to 17 years.

With a string of disappointments to put behind, Holder admitted that it won't be easy to find solutions to the problems hampering West Indies. "I don't think it's a quick fix," he said, and went on to explain: "The situation we are in in the Caribbean...we are not really spoiled for choices in terms of batsmen coming through. We've got to put things in place and to make sure we keep developing players and make sure players are doing the right things to be successful."

Citing the need to search within, Holder pointed out to a systemic overhaul that might be needed. "I think still a lot of emphasis has to be put on the cricket we play on the franchise and first class cricket level and that's where we are going to build players. We need players with experience and scenario-based experience. And when they come to the Test cricket level, it becomes a little bit easier," said Holder.

With one more Test match to play (against Afghanistan) in the year, Holder believes that immediate addressing of the problems should also be done. "There's a lot to be done. We have the opportunity to put things in place - one or two more camps, primarily for our batters, and fast bowlers too, and holistically, developing our cricketers. We have the franchise system here in the Caribbean but we need some structural things put in place in terms for players to develop," suggested Holder.

The skipper was also quick to cite West Indies' success in Test cricket over the last 2-3 years and believes that there's no reason to be "disheartened". "I think we have enough in this Test group to put up better performances. We have match-winners with the ball and one or two bright spots in the batting, what we need is consistency," he said.

One of West Indies' brightest spots across the two-Test series against India had been Kemar Roach, who finished only behind Jasprit Bumrah and Ishant Sharma, in the wicket-taker's list.

Heaping praise on Roach for his efforts, Holder said, "I just said to him in the dressing room that he is one of my motivating factors. To see the effort he gives, it pushes me. To see Shannon going off in this game and Miguel went off in the last game, it was an ideal situation for us the fast bowlers, and we have been in the field every single day [of the series] except for this day. There has been heavy workload on the fast bowlers in this series. Every single time I called on Kemar and every single time I called on Shannon, they never said 'No'. For me, that is motivating enough."

To keep the motivation going, and to bridge the "massive gap", between domestic cricket levels and international cricket, Holder seeks a collective effort.

"We have got to stay patient. I think this team, as I said before, has shown enough in the last 2-3 years, that we are definitely headed in the right direction. We definitely need to be a lot more consistent in Test cricket, and all forms of cricket.

"It's one thing for us to keep saying it but we have to do things that can breed consistency within the WI set up. Enough talking has been done, and in this situation, we need to find some solutions. It's not just one or two individuals that have to find solutions, but as a collective, Cricket West Indies has to find the solutions and hope it bodes well for our cricket."