"I can't be him, so I can only be myself" - Tagenarine Chanderpaul on comparisons with his father Shivnarine

West Indies' newest batting sensation Tagenarine Chanderpaul hopes to create his own individuality instead of following in his father's footsteps. The left-hander is in line to make his Test debut next week against Australia in Perth.

The rookie opener played a promising knock against Australia Prime Minister's XI, scoring 119 off 293 in Canberra. The 26-year-old also has an impressive first-class record, registering five centuries in 50 games and scoring 2669 runs.

Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, he said:

"I try and be myself. I can't be him, so I can only be myself. Fingers crossed. … I'll try to get some runs if I'm selected."

The left-hander was the second-highest run-getter in the four-day regional competition of 2022, scoring 439 runs in five games at 73.16 with two tons for Guyana.

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"If he can come here and do well, it will be a start to his career" - Shivnarine Chanderpaul on his son

Shivnarine Chanderpaul (Image Credits: Getty)

Former West Indies captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul has said that his guidance enabled Tagenarine to score runs and win a place in the national team. However, he expects Australia to be a stiff challenge for Tagenarine.

"He started the first-class season without many runs, then he came to Florida and did some work with me. When he got back, he got a couple of hundreds, and now he's got selected to come here."

Chandrepaul Sr. added:

"Knowing the attack Australia has - these guys are relentless - if he can come here and do well, it will be a start to his career. I try to help him sometimes, but he's a little bent in his ways. He'll seek me out for some help, but then there's a lot of times, like any kid, when you message him, but he doesn't message back."

Shivnarine Chanderpaul last played for the West Indies in 2015 and is one of their most prolific run-getters in Test and ODI cricket. He's only one of two batters to score 10,000 Test runs for the West Indies, while his 8778 runs are the the third-highest in ODIs for the team.