Disillusioned with the way in which he was hastened into retirement, Shivnarine Chanderpaul has lashed out at West Indies selectors. In an interview with ESPNCricinfo, the 42-year old opened up on the final phase of his international career and its aftermath.
Chanderpaul claimed, “I don't think (the selectors) handled it properly. It was not the way they should have done something. They should have done it better. This is something that happened way back in the past. When I started my career with some of the senior players, maybe like (Courtney) Walsh and other guys, Desmond Haynes. These are things that happened to those guys and it was not handled properly.”
He added, “At this day and age, you expected it to be better. But, it was not and I ended up getting the same treatment in the back end of it where you are totally disrespected and you were not treated right.”
Citing the example of Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar getting the opportunity to bid adieu to the game in front of his adoring home fans at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in November 2013, the Guyanese cricketer believed that his contribution to West Indies cricket could have been handled in a similar vein.
Chanderpaul felt, “You've given so many years of service to the Caribbean and there's nobody there to properly honour you and send you off properly – maybe like what Sachin (Tendulkar) got in India or some of the other players I've seen got a proper send-off. It was nothing like that. It hurt in the end because you've done so much for the West Indies.”
“You've put in so many years. A lot of times you've been injured and you still go out and play. A lot of times I went back home to Guyana injured from tours that I've been on for West Indies and go back home and play, and you give so much service for your country and to West Indies and on the back end you were not properly honoured for it.”
On batting alongside his son in the first-class circuit
Debuting in 1994 when Haynes was still opening the proceedings, Chanderpaul played a mammoth 164 Tests and ended up as the seventh highest run-scorer of all-time. With merely 86 runs separating him and West Indies’ leading run-getter Brian Lara, he would have been understandably disappointed when the selectors dropped him after a lean run in 2015.
After being overlooked for WICB’s annual contracts, the left-hander announced his retirement during January 2016. However, he admitted that it was time to move on and shape the next generation.
Now playing alongside his 20-year old son, Tagenarine, in the first-class arena, Chanderpaul senior said, “He was talking to me about bowlers. 'This guy's bowling very fast.' I was listening and saying, 'Really? Was he bowling fast?' I was pretending like I didn't know. I was listening to him. I know Shannon (Gabriel) was bowling fast. I just wanted to hear what he was saying. Then is when I can help him and tell him what to expect, what to do and not to do.”
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