His knowledge is important in taking Guyana’s cricket to higher heights

By Rajiv Bisnauth
FOLLOWING the third annual West Indies Cricket Board (WICB)/Professional Cricket League (PCL) draft earlier this month at the Coppin/Cozier/Short Media Centre at Kensington Oval, Barbados, the Guyana Jaguars opted for veteran West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul as one of the fifteen contracted players.At age 42 many felt that the former captain should have made way for a younger player, but during an exclusive interview yesterday, president of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB), Drubahadur strongly believes that Chanderpaul still has a pivotal role to play in taking Guyana’s cricket to higher heights.
The GCB boss insisted that age is just a number, adding that the left-hander has his own role to play within the Guyana Jaguars’ setup.
“More importantly what we see, he (Chanderpaul) will basically assist the youngsters in the team. We need someone like him at this moment where the young batsmen can bat around with.
“Shiv is still committed to the game, and his performance speaks for itself. He averaged close to 50 in the last season, so definitely he has his own role to play. His knowledge is important in taking Guyana’s cricket to higher heights,” Drubahadur concluded.
People know him for his unusual stance and calm demeanour. Born in the same era as Brian Lara, Chanderpaul never got the same adulation as the former West Indian batting great.
He was no Clive Lloyd or Alvin Kallicharran, yet he will always be remembered as one of the greatest all-time left-handed batsmen.
With an open-ended stance that saw him flick, hook and find the gaps with ease, Chanderpaul was able to accumulate 11 867 runs from 164 Tests, just 86 runs shy of Lara’s (11 953 in 131 Tests).
He also has 8 778 ODI runs to boast about. So, it came as a disappointment to not only his fans but Lara as well when this 42-year-old was forced into retirement by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).
Meanwhile, the Guyana Jaguars opted for its local players, with 21-year-old Trinidad and Tobago all-rounder Vikash Mohan, the only new imported draft choice.
Barbadian left-handed all-rounder Raymon Reifer is the other foreign player, but he was one of ten players retained by the Guyana Jaguars.
The other contracted players for the new season are: Shimron Hetmyer, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Vishaul Singh, Assad Fudadin, Christopher Barnwell, Veerasammy Permaul, Gudakesh Motie, Keon Joseph, Anthony Bramble, Steven Jacobs, Paul Wintz and Romario Shephard.
Further, it must be noted that batsmen Leon Johnson and Rajendra Chandrika, along with leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo, were not considered for contracts since they all have WICB retainer contracts.