Latest update November 26th, 2024 1:00 AM
Chanderpaul dropped for Australian series
Guyanese left hander should know his fate today
By Sean Devers
The career of 40-year-old West Indies left-handed middle order batsman Shivnarine
Shivnarine Chanderpaul
Chanderpaul could come to an abrupt end if an emergency meeting this weekend in Barbados with the Clive Lloyd led selection panel and the WICB President and some of their Directors fails to rescind the somewhat surprising decision to drop the Guyanese from the team to face Australia next Month.
Chanderpaul who made his Test debut at Bourda in 1994 against England is only the ninth player over the age of 40 to play in a Test match for the West Indies.
According to a well placed source Chanderpaul was given the option of retiring when he meet with the selectors this month and refused their offer claiming he was still available for Test cricket resulting in him being dropped. The left-hander from Unity Village in Guyana failed to reach 100 in the three matches against South Africa or in the three that followed in the West Indies against England.
However, the veteran who has played 164 Tests, the most by any West Indian, and has accumulated 11,867 runs at an average of 51.7 and needs 82 more to pass Brian Lara’s most Test runs by a West Indian from 131 Tests and that could have also been a consideration.
Chanderpaul reportedly wanted to continue his Test career but with each failure his average is dipping. Chanderpaul has never gone 12 innings without a half-century and the manner of some of his dismissals suggest that his advancing age played a part in them.
Gordon Greenidge was 40 when he played against Australia in St John’s in April 1991 and was the last West Indies player before Chanderpaul to play past age 40 and age must have been a consideration.
Chairman of the WICB selectors Clive Lloyd was 40 when he played his last Test against Australia at Sydney in 1984 and would be an excellent judge of whether team or individual is more important.
But because of tremendous contribution to West Indies cricket at the highest level over the last 21 years, he should be afforded the opportunity to break Lara’s record against Australia and then be asked to retire or be dropped if he passes Lara’s record or not.
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