Ramnaresh Sarwan, who last played a match for West Indies in 2013, is set to retire from international cricket. He is expected to formally announce the retirement from Guyana on Thursday.
The 36-year-old played 87 Tests and 181 ODIs, scoring over 5800 runs in both formats, with 20 international tons to his credit. He made his Test debut in May 2000, featuring in the lineup against Pakistan in the 2nd Test at Bridgetown. He scored 84 and 11, remaining unbeaten in both innings.
Along with Shivnarine Chanderpaul, he slowly established himself as one of the pillars of the West Indian batting, and was expected to play a more central role after Brian Lara’s retirement. Sarwan cemented his spot at No.3, scoring fourteen of his fifteen Test tons at his preferred slot, including a career-best 291 against England in 2009.
Following West Indies’ exit from the World Cup in 2007, and Brian Lara’s retirement, Sarwan was handed over the captaincy. The very next month, he suffered a serious shoulder injury that sidelined him for almost a year. In all, Sarwan captained the national side in five ODIs, four Tests and two T20Is.
He was part of the triumphant Champions Trophy squad of 2004, being the second highest run scorer, only behind Marcus Trescothick, with 166 runs in four matches. He also joined an elite list of players in 2006 when he scored a boundary off all six balls of a Munaf Patel over in a Test in 2006.
He was one of the players who were involved in a contractual dispute with the Windies Board, and was excluded from the first Test against South Africa in 2005. Five years later, he lost his central contract with the WICB due to poor fitness and loss of form. He was recalled for the World Cup in 2011, and was picked for Test series against Pakistan and India, but was dropped again, four Tests later.
The Guyanese signed for Lancashire in 2012 and enjoyed success with the bat, helping a struggling side win matches, but injuries resurfaced and brought a halt to his County career.
Sarwan was recalled after a gap of 18 months for the ODI series against Australia. He scored ducks in the first two ODIs, and wasn’t included in the side for the next match. He played his last match against India in 2013, scoring a solitary run before falling to Ravindra Jadeja. He featured for the Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League this year.
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