Tendulkar's 200th Test will be Chanderpaul's 150th and, with nearly 11,000 runs in the longer format of the game, the unassuming West Indian is no less a legend.
As one legend gets ready to play his 200th and final Test match from November 14-18, another one, albeit from the opposite camp, is about to play his 150th. And the other good news is that Shivnarine Chanderpaul is far from done.
A long-time servant of West Indies cricket, the left-hander from Guyana has gone from strength to strength ever since he made his debut in 1994. He may be the least attractive among batsmen, his unique stance prompting you to wonder whether the bowler is running in from square leg, but there's no way you can question his effectiveness.
Chanderpaul is just 103 runs short of the 11,000-mark in Test. Currently, he is the eighth-highest run-getter in the history of the longer format of the game. His stance may be awkward, but the most-capped West Indian in Tests comes into position just when it matters. He times his strokes perfectly, and even cuts behind square and drives through the covers with aplomb.
Chanderpaul's stance has been strange from the beginning. But he never stood as square as he does now. Earlier, he used to face mid-wicket or thereabouts. During the 2008 IPL (Chanderpaul was with Royal Challengers Bangalore), this reporter made the 'mistake' of asking Chanderpaul about his stance. “It suits my batting, what's your problem?” the West Indian shot back! Fair enough, one thought. After all, the stance has never affected the flow of runs.
A cursory look at Chanderpaul's career tells you that it ran parallel to Tendulkar's. But he never got too much attention because of the presence of the more illustrious Brian Lara, who was spoken in the same breath as the Master Blaster.
West Indies chief coach Ottis Gibson paid rich tributes to the 39-year-old Chanderpaul on Sunday. “Sachin will be playing his 200th game. He is a legend in India and around the world. Shiv will be playing his 150th game and he is also a legend in our dressing room. So as we salute and celebrate Sachin, we also salute and celebrate Shiv. It is a wonderful achievement for him (Chanderpaul) to be around for so long and still enjoying his cricket. You see him on the field, you see him in the dressing room, he's still enjoying his cricket. We are very proud to have him in our dressing room and making his 150th appearance for the West Indies.” Gibson and Chanderpaul played in one Test together, way back in 1999, against South Africa in Cape Town. For the record, Courtney Walsh is second on the West Indies' all-time list, with 132 Tests.
Asked if Chanderpaul has got the credit he deserves, the 44-year-old Gibson said, “I think so. A lot of times, things are said when you are finished. People back your achievements. People then start thinking whether you are great or not. Shiv has done it for the West Indies for nearly 20 years and that, in itself, is an achievement.”
They say the team's best batsman should bat higher up the order. Chanderpaul bats at No. 5 or even at No. 6. That's where he has scored most of his runs — 8,466 runs in 174 innings. Gibson has no problems with that. “We stick to a batting line-up and Shiv bats in a position where has been playing for a long while.”
Chanderpaul got starts in both the innings in Kolkata, scoring 36 and 31 not out in the first Test. He would like to do better in Mumbai. And what better occasion than your 150th Test to do it!
KNOW SHIV
Full Name: Shivnarine Chanderpaul
Born: August 16, 1974
Test debut: vs England, Guyana, March 1994
Tests: 149; Innings: 253
Runs: 10,897; HS: 203*
Avg: 51.89; 100s: 28
50s: 61
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}