In his 20 year long career (153 Test matches), Shivanrine Chanderpaul has played under 10 captains and he also led in 14 matches. He’s West Indies’ second highest run getter in Test cricket, only after Brian Lara (693 runs behind) and sixth in the all time list. Shivnarine Chanderpaul aka Chanders is not the most elegant batsman, but he’s surely one of the most effective. Just like his former teammate, most of Chanders’ runs have come in a losing cause and this is one of the biggest reasons why Chanderpaul is not as celebrated as other 10,000 runs club members.
All those who have followed Chanderpaul’s career, keep stating the fact that his glorious career is understated. But, Chanderpaul, who’s always been too busy scoring runs for his team, has never cared about it.
At 39, Chanderpaul’s appetite for run-scoring has not dimmed. In fact, the quality of his batting has only increased.
• Four times has a Chanderpaul innings spanned 1000 minutes.
• He is the only batsman to have faced 1000 consecutive balls in Tests without being defeated.
• He also has a 69-ball Test century, against the Australian juggernaut of 2003, no less.
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In the ongoing Test series between West Indies and New Zealand in Kingston, Chanderpaul will play under his 11th captain in Denesh Ramdin, all the limelight will be on Chris Gayle, who will be playing his 100th Test match. Despite being West Indies’ most valuable player, Chanderpaul, as always, will slip under the radar.
Maybe that’s how Chanders likes it. After all, that’s how it has panned out for most of his 20-year career.
Chanders has forged an outstanding career while playing under the shadow of Brian Charles Lara. Innings after innings, match after match, series after series, year after year, Chanderpaul has remained a constant pillar in West Indian cricket. Players and coaches have come and gone, boards have changed, methods and rules have fluctuated but Chanderpaul abides, in his 20th year as an international cricketer.
