10 Unknown Shivnarine Chanderpaul facts that you should know

10 Unknown Shivnarine Chanderpaul facts that you should know: Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the veteran Caribbean batsman, is more popular for his unorthodox style of batting, than technique or shots. When he used this batting stance for the first time in his cricket career many had written him off, but the rest is history as the West Indian cricketer went on to become the most consistent performer for more than two decades.

The veteran cricketer has played 164 Tests and scored 11867 runs with 30 tons and 66 fifties at an impressive average of 51.37. Similarly, he had performed brilliantly in 50-over format too, scoring 8778 runs with 11 centuries and 59 half-centuries at an average of around 41 in 268 ODIs that he played.

The left-handed batsman might be looking forward to walk off into the sunset with his farewell Test match soon, but as a prolific batsman he has contributed heavily to West Indies’ victory at crucial matches and against tough opponents. More or less he continued to remain an unsung hero for his team.

As the legendary southpaw turns 41 today, Cricket Tracker brings to you 10 Unknown Shivnarine Chanderpaul facts that you should know:

1. Celebrated Indo-Caribbean: There are lots of ethnic Indians who have played cricket for West Indies; examples are plenty, from Ramnaresh Sarwan, Ravi Rampaul to Sunil Naraine. But, Shivnarine Chanderpaul is the only Indo-Caribbean cricketer to have played more than 100 tests for the West Indies.

2. Record at final Test: The Guyanese cricketer with 11867 Test runs is just 86 runs away from becoming the highest run-getter for West Indies in Test cricket. Currently, Brian Lara (11953) holds this record. If Chanderpaul succeeds in doing so, he will also reach the 6th position on the list of highest run scorer in Test match history. However, it is still unclear whether he will get that opportunity to officially play his farewell game or not due to some difference of opinion among board members.

3. Master of Mammoth innings: The talented middle order batsman holds the world record for batting more than 1000 minutes between dismissals. He has successfully repeated this feat 4 times in his 21-year long illustrious Test career.

4. Religiously Hindu: Though, Chanderpaul plays for West Indies but he retained his ancestral religion – Hinduism. He is highly religious and spiritual in his approach.

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5. Anti-glare stickers: For Chanderpaul fans, those little black paints or smudges under his eyes are not new, but what is it? This is actually a pair of two anti-glare stickers that he pastes under his eyes to refract the sunlight.

6. Awards and Honors: The veteran cricketer has won 16 Man-of-the-Match (MOM) trophies and 4 Man-Of-the-Series (MOS) awards in ODIs. He also bagged 11 MOM trophies and 7 MOS awards in his Test career. He was declared both ICC Player of the Year and Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2008.

7. Glory in Georgetown: There is a street named Shiv Chanderpaul Drive after the name of this legendary batsman in Georgetown, the capital city of Guyana Chanderpaul’s hometown.

8. IPL career: The ace batsman couldn’t prove his talents at IPL matches. In IPL 2008 (inaugural edition), he got the chance to play for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) alongside other veterans Kallis and Dravid, but he failed to get his show right in the IPL. He scored just 25 runs from 3 matches, and that is all he played.

9. Test captaincy debut: Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s 203* in his first Test as captain against South Africa holds the world record for being the second highest score by any debutant captain after Graham Dowling’s 239.

10. Nickname or a Misnomer: Rohan Kanhai, former West Indian legend, named the left-handed Shiv as “Tiger” despite latter’s calm and peaceful behavior on the field. However, when it comes to Cricket the left-handed batsman knows exactly how to attack and teardown the opponent to the advantage of his team.