Amidst calls by some in the cricket fraternity for 42-year-old Shivnarine Chanderpaul to call it quits on a decorated First-class career, Secretary of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Anand Sanasie still believes the former Test cricketer has much to offer to the team.
In the 2016/2017 Digicel Regional 4-day competition, the dogged left-hander has batted with an aptitude of a cricketer way below his age which corresponded in him scoring 447 runs from five matches at an average of 74.50 which has placed him in third position on the leading runs tally at the half-way stage of the league.
His highest score of 143 and second century thus far, came in his last match against the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force at Providence and it was an innings where he batted with utmost command stoking the opposition bowlers to all parts of the ground and most importantly bailed the Guyana Jaguars out of another spot of bother.
With such success for the batsman who retired from Test cricket in 2015, is a more than a runs-maker but a player who help nurture the younger members.
“The experts, the coaches around the set up, they think that he has a lot to offer and contribute in the attitude of players, professionalism and cultivating that into the younger players especially our batters to stay long at the wicket,” the Secretary explained.
The West Indies Cricket Board Director further stated that “There were a lot of talks on how much he can do and he is doing enough with the bat and we know what he is capable of doing in the dressing room, so we will wait and see.”
The cricketer, in an earlier interview, had voiced that “I still love the game, I still do the things such as the training and preparations, the basic stuff that I have done for so many years, preparing myself and getting ready for games, is something that I always enjoy doing.”
He added that “performance wise, for me this year, it has been good I don’t know what is going to happen but I’m really focused on Guyana cricket and helping the guys out.”
The former West Indies captain who is part of the Jaguars 50-over training squad, has played 408 List A matches, scoring 12 centuries at an average of 42.03, it would seem most likely that the batsman will make the final squad for the tournament which will be played in Barbados and Antigua and Barbuda from January 24 to February 18. (Guyana Times Sport)
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