Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s omission from the West Indies squad has sent shock waves along the cricketing world.
Ahead of their upcoming test series against Australia the west indies team management have axed the cricketing legend following poor form over the last 12 months.
Clive Lloyd from the Windies selection committee said in the press conference that the decision to axe Chanderpaul was made with some regret.
“We recognise the significant contribution Chanderpaul has made to the West Indies teams over the last two decades, but we want to take this opportunity to introduce a number of young promising players into the squad,” he said.
“Over a period of time we’ve noticed a decline in form … over the last 11 innings he’s averaging 16, so we thought the time has come to look towards younger players.
“I don’t think there’s any bitterness. I think he realised that at 40 years old he’s not going to be in the same shape he was at 20. We just thought that here it is, we must make a decision. We have a lot of good young cricketers and we think it’s time we inject the youth into our cricket.”
Coach Phil Simmons also stated in the press conference that Chanderpaul did not fit in the current West Indies squad.
“He’s had a long and illustrious career, and we know he’s done a lot for West Indies cricket, but at the same time we sit down to select a team against Australia,” he said.
“It’s not about giving someone two tests to finish their career, it’s about picking the right team to play the next game.”
A leaked version of a letter allegedly sent by Lloyd to Chanderpaul, revealed that the cricketing great is “thanked for his service but said his form was no longer good enough to warrant selection.”
His exclusion created chaotic debate in cricket world. Brian Lara, the legend of West Indies cricket said that the prolific test batsman has earned a farewell series.
“It has to do with respect and Chanderpaul has earned the right to say goodbye in an acceptable way. In fact, he should be allowed to do it in his own way,” he told ESPN.
Chanderpaul, who is compared to a crab when batting, belongs to cricket royalty. He is also ranked in the top 10 of the ICC one day international ranking. He is 86 runs short of Brian Lara’s record of 11,953 runs, as a West Indies runs scorer, including 30 centuries. -Joseph Walz
Top photo taken from Duncan Flickr Photostream
About the author
I am on the World team for the Macleay Newsroom. My special interests are sporting stories and human interest stories.
