Dear Editor,
Guyanese iconic cricketer Shivnarine Chanderpaul is greatly admired and held in high esteem throughout Sri Lanka as I found in my research sojourn there last December travelling around the island. Sri Lankan cricket enthusiasts feel Chanderpaul should be allowed to play a last home test series in a fitting farewell to the game.
And this feeling long before Chanders, as he is referred to, experienced a recent spurt in batting form scoring three hundreds in regional cricket over the last month.
In Sri Lanka, because of my western appearance and language accent, everywhere I travelled in hotels, restaurants, markets, and on the streets, questions inevitably arose about my country of origin. Not too many Sri Lankans are familiar with Guyana. But they know of West Indies to which they relate outstanding cricket names. They belted out Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Sunil Narine, Samuel Badree, Denesh Ramdin, etc, and of course Chanderpaul.
The older Lankans recalled Clive Lloyd, Rohan Kanhai, Alvin Kalicharran, Gary Sobers, Andy Roberts, etc. The conversations centred on Chanderpaul who Lankans described as one of the finest test batsman of his era. They respect Chanders for the way he played his cricket and his batting and leadership skills in mentoring and helping youngsters on the team. They miss seeing Chanderpaul in cricket matches.
Lankans recognise Chanders as someone who a team can rely on to save or win a match, and they could not understand why West Indies unceremoniously dumped such a reliable batsman especially when he performed better than all the rest on a team.
Sri Lankans love Chanderpaul batting style, especially his patience to score runs and to tame hostile bowlers. He is not intimidated by the fiercest fast bowling or the guile of deadly spin. He scored runs against all forms of bowling. They remember his unorthodox grip and batting position and the unique way he marks his batting crease. They noted that he does not surrender a match and is uncompromising in his batting. He has a reputation of never selling out a match unlike several cricketers of his generation.
Sri Lankan cricket enthusiasts feel Chanderpaul was unjustly discarded. They feel he should have been allowed to play a final home series and given the opportunity to break Brian Lara’s run record.
A final home series for Chanders would not have done West Indies any harm as the team did terrible in every series played at home or abroad since Chanders was dumped. In fact, he may very well have saved matches or caused WIndies to win games abroad or at home over the last two years.
On his recent batting form, it is to be noted that Chanders also did extremely well in a friendly benefit 20-20 match in Penal, Trinidad two weeks ago, scoring some 42 runs not out at almost two a ball that came from mostly sixes and fours.
He scored freely going after the ball proving that he still has youth in him contrary to what West Indies selectors think. In that match, Lara freely scored a 50 that included several fours and a couple of sixes.
Lara and Darren Ganga, the former Trinidad and West Indies captain, who also scored freely, captained each side with Chanders on the Lara side. Chanders bowled economically and took wickets. I was in Trinidad at the time and both Lara and Chanders received standing ovations and were mobbed by spectators.
Both Lara and Chanders are close friends, and Lara had stated repeatedly that he has no problem with the “Tiger”, as Chanders is known, breaking his run aggregate. West Indies should recall Chanders for a final test series in light of his recent batting form. He deserves a fitting farewell from the West Indies board as the Sri Lankan fans observe.
Yours faithfully,
Vishnu Bisram
