Shivnarine Chanderpaul was the bedrock of the West Indies middle order over 20 years. But the circumstances leading to his inevitable retirement weren't pleasant It is typical of the present state of West Indies cricket that Shivnarine Chanderpaul's retirement from the game he mastered in his peculiar style for 21 years, over 164 Tests and 268 ODIs, should have been inappropriately shrouded in controversy.
It was predicated by his omission from the home series against Australia last June. He was 40 then, and an average of 16.63 in his previous six Tests in South Africa and in the Caribbean against England, was a sign that the end was near. The selectors' decision showed no compassion.
The chairman of the panel, Clive Lloyd, the legendary captain during West Indies' prolonged period of domination in the 1980s and a fellow Guyanese, wrote to advise Chanderpaul that they had "decided to move on with younger players for the future".
"You have been a great player for the West Indies and have given excellent service to the game and to West Indies supporters all over the world," Lloyd added. "We hope that your skills will be utilised in the future and we wish you all the very best."
It was nothing less than a letter of termination, immediately and inevitably setting off enraged reaction. Unusually, cricket administrators found themselves on the same page as public opinion.