Shivnarine Chanderpaul forced into retirement by WICB

Legendary left-handed batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul has stated that he was forced into retirement by the West Indies Cricket board (WICB) earlier this month. The 41-year-old Chanderpaul who has been involved in 164 Test matches for his country has amassed a massive 11867 runs. Chanderpaul has amassed the second highest runs in test matches with just 86 runs behind Brian Lara.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who has been ignored by West Indian selectors since May 2015, simply goes on to summarize the horrific relationship between the WICB and the contracted players.

Speaking to the media, Chanderpaul went on to say, “I was given a No Objection Certificate by WICB with a clause in it that I retire on the 23rd. If I didn’t announce my retirement they would have taken it back.” The 41-year-old, however, mentioned that he would feature in for Guyana, his domestic side.

“I have spoken to Guyana already. I know the chairman wants me to go back and play. They have a game against Trinidad starting on February 12. Then Barbados, then the Windward Islands, Leeward Islands and Jamaica. Those are games that I’ve talked to them already about going back to play. I’ve not retired from first-class matches. I’ve retired from international games.”

“I wasn’t being picked to play for West Indies anymore and there was nothing else for me to do. So I decided I would come out here to the UAE and play some cricket.” It is reported that Chanderpaul’s earning in the two weeks of the MCL amount to almost $30,000.

The 41-year-old Guyanese southpaw has underlined his hunger to still play the game. “I don’t have a contract with anybody. No local boards; no West Indies board. I’ve been playing for Guyana because the coach and chairman saw the value of having me around as a player. They pay me a match fee and I play and try and help the young fellas as much as I can.”

“Anything is possible in life. You can go into retirement; you can come out of retirement. It is my choice. I’m definitely still hungry to play. It’s something I’ve done most of my life. There is still passion and hunger to play.”

Speaking about the WICB, Chanderpaul went on to state that, “You can’t [choose the way you go]; not with those guys. It’s the way we’re being treated. It’s still going on and it’s not changing. We’re being treated like that and worse sometimes. That’s how it goes. Some of the past players had better times in their career. They don’t want to change. They want to stay the same way; have the same attitude.”

“But you can’t bring the same thing to the table every time because you’re not going to go anywhere. We’re not going forward. We’re just going down. They’re creating some problems. As much as you’re saying we have past players, they are the ones who are creating the problem because they have their ways – their old ways – and there’s brute force and ignorance and they’re still carrying it around and still expecting things to go the same way.”

“You feel much better just coming out here to play [in the MCL]; without all the stress, without all the other stuff that’s going on.”