Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the ‘Indomitable Tiger’ battles on

Ever since his Test debut at the once world famous, GCC ground Bourda for the West Indies against England in Georgetown on March 17, 1994, this admirable son of Guyana and the West Indies has been a positive role model to cricketers in Guyana and the world over.
His determination and the will to succeed are traits that will see anyone to success. This has been the story of Shiv all through his career, which is still very much alive at the age of 40. He was born on August 16, 1974 in the village of Unity on the East Coast of Demerara.
The left handed batsman, who also bowls legbreaks, has become a solid pillar in the West Indies team and its most dependable batsman currently. He has just been named in the West Indies 14-man team that will host England in a three-Test series which bowled off on April 13 at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, Antigua.
Such is his resilience, that Chanderpaul is described as the rock of the Windies Test team and no doubt will be aiming to build on his already fantastic Test averages which stands at 52.33 in 161 matches.
He made his ODI debut in 1994 against hosts India on October 17 and averages 41.60 in 268 matches while his first class career began in 1991/92 and T20I career started on February 16, 2006 against New Zealand in Auckland.
Shiv was Captain of the West Indies in 2005-06, and to celebrate the milestone he clobbered a double-hundred in Guyana.
This is how ESPN cricinfo describes Shiv: “The possessor of the crabbiest technique in world cricket, Shivnarine Chanderpaul proves there is life beyond the coaching handbook. He never seems to play in the V, or off the front foot, but uses soft hands, canny deflections, and a whiplash pull-shot to maintain a Test average of around 50.
While the cricket world was obsessed with Brian Lara’s unquestionable talent, Chanderpaul has shown that there are alternate ways to be consistent and prolific in Test cricket over a long period of time, becoming only the second West Indian to score 10,000 Test runs.
Chanderpaul’s contributions have been immense, as he has defied bowling attacks in all countries and all conditions, often with minimal support from the other end. One of the best examples of that was against Australia in 2012, in the series in which he got to 10,000 Test runs: he ran up scores of 103*, 12, 94, 68 and 69, for an aggregate of 346 in five innings. The second-highest aggregate for West Indies in the series was 186, which amply sums up Chanderpaul’s Test career.”
His exploits for Guyana in the longer and shorter versions of the game are also well documented and he will continue to be a positive role model for the younger players including his son, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, who has already represented West Indies at the Under-19 level.
Shivnarine, apart from representing Guyana and the West Indies has also represented Derbyshire, Durham, Khulna Royal Bengals, Lancashire, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Stanford Superstars, Uva Next, Warwickshire and the Warwickshire 2nd XI.