Guyana’s new Minister of Sport Dr. Rupert Roopnarine, has described as “distressing” the axing of veteran Guyana and West Indies middle order batsman Shivanarine Chanderpaul from the regional squad for the tour against Australia, which started in Dominica last Wednesday.
Dr. Roopnarine, also the education minister, said the way Chanderpaul had been treated did not reflect the yeoman service he had given to West Indies cricket in the region.
“The manner of his going really does no justice to the manner of his performance over the years and what he has meant to us,” he said.
The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) lambasted the selectors’ decision to discard Chanderpaul, calling it a “matter of gross disrespect.”
Chairman of selectors, Clive Lloyd, along with newly-installed head coach Phil Simmons, said Chanderpaul had been omitted because of his “rapid decline” in form.
Chanderpaul, who boasts a career average of 51, has averaged just 16 from his last 11 innings. Overall, however, he has scored 11,867 runs from 164 Tests, with 30 centuries.
Dr. Roopnarine criticized the planning of the selectors, contending that if they believed Chanderpaul was coming to the end of his career, then appropriate arrangements should have been put in place for the farewell.
