Rebuilding a team for World Cup reason for Sarwan’s non-selection for ODI team

Apr 13, 2011 Sports

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Chanderpaul asked to retire from ODIs

By Sean Devers
At age 30 and with an ODI average of 43.20 from 166 matches Guyanese middle order batsman and former West Indies Captain Ramnaresh Sarwan has been left out of the West Indies team for the first two ODIs against Pakistan after also being ignored for the one-off T20 International in St Lucia on April 21.
The stylish right-hander who also averages above 40 in Tests and First-Class cricket told Kaieteur Sport on Sunday just after scoring an unbeaten double century at Bourda for GCC in Georgetown’s first division competition that he was informed by the Chairman of the West Indies selectors, fellow Guyanese Clyde Butts, that he has not been selected for the first two One Day Internationals against Pakistan.
While his non-selection, along with other senior players for the T20 raised a few eyebrows, Sarwan might not be the ideal T20 player at this juncture of his career and the move to blood players who performed in the last Regional T20 tournament did not cause much undue concern.
Sarwan, recently appointed an executive of the West Indies Players Association (WIPA), was passed fit by the West Indies selectors for this year’s West Indies three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka although many feel that the ‘fitness issue’ was an excuse to teach the Guyanese a lesson due to his close ties with WIPA.
Sarwan, who last played Test cricket in 2009 announced his return to the International level with a classy 75. He was then run out for 21 in the second ODI before rounding off his return series with another half-century to average 49 from the three matches.
The elegant batsman, who made his Test debut with a stunning unbeaten 84 against Pakistan as a Teenager in 2000, warmed up for the World Cup with a century in one of the practice matches but a luke-warm World Cup, in which he averaged 25.83 from seven matches followed for Sarwan as the West Indies were knocked-out at the Quarterfinals.
Devon Smith and Chris Gayle were the only West Indians to average over 40 and not reached 43 with new Skipper Daren Sammy, who averaged an embarrassing 9 with the bat, struggling to contribute with either bat or ball since his surprise elevation to the Captaincy position.
Butts, the former West Indies off-Spinner had said last year that Sarwan’s batting ability was never questioned and once he showed an improvement in his fitness level he would be back in the team.
Now, with fitness no longer an excuse and with an average of 48.60 from 12 ODI matches against Pakistan, Sarwan, easily one of the best players of spin bowling in the West Indies, has been dropped from the 50-overs team and according to him, the reason this time is that he did not fit into the long-term plan for the team.
“I was told by Mr Butts that I was not selected because they are looking to rebuild the team for the next World Cup. I find that surprising since I think I will still capable of making a contribution with the bat by then. What happens if I make three or four centuries in the next three Regional One-Day competitions?” Sarwan wondered.
Sarwan averages 63.47 from 25 ODIs against India who tour the West Indies immediately after Pakistan and his snub by the Clyde Butts-panel and the reason given to Sarwan, hints at reasons other than cricketing ones being the cause for his omission.
A blog, which Sarwan suspects originates from the USA with input from people living in Guyana, was widely circulated on the internet claiming that Sarwan was being investigated by the ICC for match-fixing during the World Cup.
Both WIPA and the West Indies Cricket Board have since confirmed that the reports are false. Sarwan told Kaieteur Sport that he has a ‘very good idea; who is behind the ‘blog’ and that he will be launching an investigation which could be followed by legal action on the matter.
Just after the World Cup, West Indies Coach Otis Gibson had criticized the performances of the senior players while calling for Sammy, who performed worse than the senior players, to be retained as Skipper. Many feel that Gibson’s public comments had little to do with what was best for the revival of West Indies cricket and a lot to do with the politics affecting the game in the Region.
Sources close to the team say there are several problems with the manner in which the Coach and Skipper are running the team and that Gibson had developed a bad relationship with senior batsmen Chanderpaul, Gayle and Sarwan due to his ‘dictatorship’ style.
The West Indies Coach has categorically denied the existence of a row between him and senior players following the regional side’s humiliating exit from the World Cup… “There’s no row between anybody,” assured Gibson…  “I went in a Press conference and I made some comments that have been taken out of context and reported in a different fashion.  “Basically what I said was that our senior players didn’t perform to the level that was expected [and] that’s all there is to say about that…”
Although the non-selection of Sarwan and Chanderpaul for the T20 game in St Lucia has further stoked the rumours, Sarwan declined to publicly comment on what goes on behind closed doors but did not deny that all is not well in the team.
“They’re still West Indies players,” Gibson said of the Gayle, Chanderpaul and Sarwan. “We’re not in a position where we can afford to discard our best players [but] everyone has to understand that whatever we do is built around performance.
“When you perform, there is no discussion [but] if you don’t perform you have to be made aware of that [because] you’re responsible to the team and West Indies cricket,” Gibson said.
A usually reliable source informed that Chanderpaul, who also had a poor World Cup, was asked to retire from Limited Overs cricket but declined to do so. When contacted a WICB official confirmed that Chanderpaul was indeed asked to resign from ODI cricket.
Robin Singh, the High Performance Analyst at the Guyana Cricket Board, said yesterday that if the reason for Sarwan’s omission from the ODI team is true it would be shocking since Sarwan and Gayle should be the two senior players leading the rebuilding of the team for the next World Cup since both are very good 50-over batsmen and still very young at 30.
“Of course a message must be sent to those who don’t perform but we have to be careful to balance youth and experience since in the four years leading up to the next World Cup trying to win matches should also be very important not only to our rankings but to the mental condition of the players who represent us in the next World Cup,” Singh added.
The fifth ODI between West Indies and Pakistan is set for the Guyana National Stadium on May 5 (a National holiday to celebrate Indian Arrival day in Guyana) and with Guyana traditionally known for attracting massive crowds for International Limited Overs cricket, the selection of Sarwan and Chanderpaul could be a major topic for Butts and his panel when they sit the pick the team for the Guyana matches.

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