On the non-selection of Shivnarine Chanderpaul

With the bombshell dropping of Guyana and West Indies veteran batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) selectors for the upcoming home series against the world ranked number-two Australia, many past and current players, administrators and fans shared their views on what is at the moment a controversial issue.
Chanderpaul was on Sunday not named in the 12-man squad selected by the WICB selectors despite the fact that he needs only 86 more runs to surpass Brian Lara as the regions highest run scorer in test cricket.

The Guyana Cricket Board has already blasted the WICB selection panel and a number of other influential persons have given their take on the matter. Stabroek Sport sought out the views of a wide cross section of persons associated with the sport. Following are the comments:

Andrew Richardson, fast bowler, Jamaica, Jamaica Tallawahs, West Indies – Shiv has had stellar career of over 21 years at the International level. He has been a great servant of West Indies cricket, the back bone of our batting for years. The decision to drop him should have been indicated to him immediately after the England series and not so close to the Australian series.

Zeniffe Fowler, opening batsman, Jamaica, Jamaica Under 19 – I believe they should have given him at least this series to get the record Chanderpaul has served West Indies cricket well and it’s sad to see him being discarded like this.

Anil Beharry, President of the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) – I am disappointed in the manner that Chanderpaul was sent off. I think to be fair to both him and the board, they should have said to him that this series can possibly be his last depending on his performance and performance only. This would have also given Chanderpaul the opportunity to go after whatever goals he set himself.

We all know Chanderpaul’s record against Australia, It is outstanding and even though the performance of the Test team was encouraging against England, we should not get carried away and think we have arrived. Let us don’t give ourselves that false sense of security. The WICB is answerable to the people and they need to operate in a more professional and transparent manner. Best luck in the future to Shiv!

Julian Moore, National Coach, former Youth player – I think the way Chanderpaul has been dropped is disappointing from all perspective especially being an ardent cricket fan. I think his commitment, longevity and discipline towards West Indies cricket has been immense and probably has been more than any other player in his era. I think like everything else, Shiv’s career would have to come an end sometime but to drop a man who, by the way is our premier Test player especially when he is 86 runs short of a personal milestone is very disappointing to see.

Ayube Khan, cricket fan – I think he should be given a chance to play because he was a loyal servant of West Indies cricket for the past 23 years and the West Indies Board is always saying that the players are not being loyal to West Indies cricket because of things like the IPL and so on. I think they should give him the opportunity to play the farewell series and retire after.

 Reon King, former Guyana and West Indies fast-bowler – I think it’s sad to see it has come to something like that. In having an exit plan early for him then something like this would not have occurred. The WICB should have something in place for Shiv because he didn’t turn 40 in a wink of an eye because the last time they issued contracts he was 40.

It should have been done then and the long term involvement should have been made, if he wanted to break Brian Lara’s record he could have paced himself. I understand the selectors’ position it’s still a professional sport but once again the administration has brought a great player’s career to an abrupt end.

Shiv as done well for the West Indies, I applaud him, he is a role model around the world and a household name it’s sad to see it come to such an end.

Colin Stuart, former Guyana and West Indies fast-bowler – First of all it’s a bit unfortunate he wasn’t given the opportunity to know that his last series was against England. I understand the selectors point, his performances were below expectations.

However, seeing that he has given such great service to West Indies cricket as one of the most dependable batsmen in the side, I felt it would have been wise and appreciative if they could have said that it’s likely to be his last series on a specific occasion.

I think not indicating to Shiv may bring that negative impact but in terms of the performance for the last two tours it would appear that the selectors are taking their position based on performance. I felt it would have been good to indicate that you would have been out if you don’t pull your weight.

We look at age and performances, players go through that, form is temporary and class is permanent. The selectors might have taken age into consideration so for me that is it. We could have gone into the Australia series and said if you don’t score in the first game then you cannot not play the second.

Mariah Lall- I think Chanderpaul has given so much to West Indies cricket and cricket in general so he should be afforded the chance to retire after the upcoming two matches against Australia. They owe him that much he deserves the respect.