Shivnarine Chanderpaul- The unsung hero of West Indies cricket

There are some cricketers who keep playing selflessly for their nation and when it comes to recognition, they do not get the due respect from their cricket board. One such cricketer is the West Indian southpaw Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

The left-hander from Guyana who represented West Indies in 164 Test matches signed off as the second highest scorer for West Indies in Test cricket, just 87 runs short of the runs scored by the great Brian Lara.

Chanderpaul scored 11867 runs in the said 164 Tests at an average of 51.37 with 30 Test centuries and 66 half centuries. However, he was shown a cold shoulder by the selectors in the year 2015 and since then was left out of the Test team to which he had expressed his disappointment.

After the retirement of Lara, Chanderpaul was the lone warrior in the West Indies team. The top order would be dismantled early on and the middle order failed to impress on most occasions. Chanderpaul like a true fighter and a lone warrior tried to rescue the sinking ship on several occasions. However he could not help his team from sinking and in spite of his best efforts and scoring heaps and heaps of runs, West Indies struggled to get back to glory days.

Chanderpaul was a useful player in ODIs also and he scored 8778 runs in 268 ODIs at an average of 41.60. Chanderpaul last played an ODI for West Indies in 2011. Since then he was a vital figure in the West Indies Test squad and after being ignored by the selectors for almost a year, he has announced his retirement from international cricket.

In an illustrious career of 21 years, Chanderpaul has seen it all, the highs of the West Indies cricket, the disintegration among the team, the lows. What makes Chanderpaul more special was his unorthodox stance and the number of runs he scored in spite of such a stance surprises his fans the world over.

The retirement of Chanderpaul has left a void in the West Indies middle order which has been tough to fill. He was a complete team man and a true gentleman of the game. In spite of scoring so many runs, he did not go down as one of the legends of the game.

However, Chanderpaul is definitely one of the most impact players to have played the game and who gave his 100% commitment to West Indies cricket on the field. The memory of his unusual stance will be everlasting in the minds of cricket fans the world over. Sportskeeda wishes Chanderpaul a very happy 44th birthday.