COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (CMC) – Veteran left-hander Shiv Chanderpaul is set to return to the West Indies line-up for the third and final One-Day International against Sri Lanka today. The 36-year-old missed the second game on Thursday through illness as West Indies crashed to an eight-wicket loss at the Sinhalese Sports Club.
Coach Ottis Gibson said Chanderpaul’s presence would be a tremendous boost for the side as it went in search of a series equalling victory.
“It will be great to have Shiv back in the team. He is a big plus for us as our most experienced batter and someone we can rely on,” Gibson said yesterday.
“He had a bit of the flu and missed the last game but he’s 100 per cent now and we welcome him back into the team. He is someone who is the glue in our middle-order. If he gets in he is difficult to get out we expect him to show that.”
With Chanderpaul missing, the West Indies batting crumbled for a disappointing 203 in the last ODI, a total Sri Lanka easily overhauled to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
The experienced Guyanese has played 262 ODIs in a 16-year career and is the most seasoned campaigner in the squad. He has scored 8 661 runs at an average of nearly 42.
With him on board, Gibson said he hoped there would be improvement in the batting, especially with the World Cup beckoning.
“A victory today, and a draw in this three-match series, would be a huge boost for us going into the World Cup, which basically is upon us,” Gibson noted.
“We need to put more runs on the board if we are going to win. The batsmen are fully aware they need to take more responsibility for the totals we are going to get.
“We had a really good training session and now it comes down to execution. We are confident … everyone is talking the right language and it now comes down to backing your ability, backing your skills.”