Former West Indies captain and renowned batter Shivnarine Chanderpaul was inducted in the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame during a function in Sydney (Australia) on Monday (7) evening.
It may be mentioned here that on October 2, the Caribbean run machine was inducted into the USA Cricket Hall of Fame.
The former southpaw of Indian origin couldn’t attend that function as he was tied up in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) as the head coach of the Jamaica Tallawahs. Another USA Cricket Hall of Famer, Jatin Patel, received the award on his behalf.
This is the first instance in history that a cricketer has been inducted into the two Hall of Fames -- USA Cricket and ICC -- within such a short span.
Shivnarine Chanderpaul of the West Indies (L) celebrates his century during day two of the third international cricket Test match between New Zealand and the West Indies at the Seddon Park in Hamilton on December 20, 2013. (Photo by MICHAEL BRADLEY/AFP via Getty Images)
Expressing his gratitude after his induction into the ICC Hall of Fame, Chanderpaul said, “I am extremely honoured and very humbled to receive this very prestigious honour. I do so on behalf of my family who supported me all my life, my teammates who encouraged me and helped me, the many supporters around the world, and the loyal fans of West Indies cricket who I played every magical moment for. From the first moment I stepped onto the field in my West Indies cap, I knew what my responsibility was, and I always knew I had to give my 100 percent. I enjoyed every moment of my time.
“When I was a boy growing up in Guyana with that over-sized bat in my small hands and you told me I would make it into the ICC Hall of Fame, I would have said ‘you’re mad!’. Never ever in my wildest dreams did I think I would make it this far. But I did dream big. And this honour here shows that your dreams, when combined with hard work and dedication, can come true. Your hard work can take you places you never imagined.
“Today I am proud, as I join a list of the game’s elite who represent the best of all time. I receive this ICC Hall of Fame Award with humility and hope that what I achieved for the West Indies and what I did on the field will inspire a new generation of young cricketers to always dream big and always give their 100 per cent,” he added.
The only West Indian cricketer after the legendary Brian Lara to have scored more than 10,000 Test runs, Chanderpaul is mostly recognised for his unique stance and dogged determination while batting.
Making his debut as a 19-year-old in 1994 till he called it quits as a 41-year-old in 2015, Chanderpaul had scored 11,867 runs in 164 Tests with a batting average of 51.37 with the highest score of 203 not out.
There have been many instances when he has single-handedly retrieved West Indies' plummeting fortunes and that he has done in all three formats of the game, both as the captain of the side and as a lower-middle order bat.
In 268 one-day internationals (ODIs), Chanderpaul scored 8,778 runs with an average of 41.60 and a highest score of 150. He didn't play too many T20s but, in 81 matches he scored 1,576 runs with an average of 23.52 and strike rate of 105.77.
His highest T20 score has been 87 not out. With his slow leg-break, he has also picked nine Test and 14 ODI wickets in his career.
Chanderpaul holds some unique records which shows his temperament and the price he puts on his wicket. He has been involved in 771 partnerships in Test, the most by any player, during which he batted with 83 different partners, which is also the highest than any cricketer ever.
During his Test career, Chanderpaul watched 507 dismissals of his batting partners from the other end, the most by any batter.
Another highlight of his batting career is batting for more than 1,000 minutes in a Test match on four different occasions, the highest being for 1,513 minutes.
A wonderful cricketing brain, Chanderpaul shifted his focus to coaching in 2016 after his retirement and in 2020 launched the Chanderpaul Cricket Academy along with multi-discipline coach and USA Cricket Hall of Famer Jatin Patel.
This year, in his first season as the coach of Jamaica Tallawahs, he earned the rare distinction of taking the team all the way to the championship title.
The year 2022 has been a good one for Chanderpaul and as the head coach of the USA Women's Under-19 Team, he led the team to the West Indies Zonal tourney where the USA U-19 girls finished undefeated.
The icing on the cake this year came when his son Tagenarine Brandon Chanderpaul got his maiden call to represent the West Indies in the two-match Test series against Australia later in the year.
The senior Chanderpaul has earned many laurels during his playing career, and that includes the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Cricketer of the Year; Wisden Cricketer of the Year; and the WICB West Indies Player of the Year; to name a few.
Now as a coach, he has already started making an impact.
But, knowing the tenacity of Chanderpaul and his discipline, dedication, and determination to succeed, this is just the beginning of yet another glittering career for one of the finest ever to have played the game and more than that, an amazing human being.
Bob Blackman MP speaks during the event