Long serving West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul will not face Australia in the upcoming two-Test series in the Caribbean, starting on June 3 in Dominica.
The Guyanese left hander, just 86 runs shy of Brian Lara's record for the most Test runs, has been overlooked by the regional selectors and as a consequence Lara's record will stand.
Chanderpaul had two poor series against South Africa in South Africa and England in the West Indies, where he averaged just 16 runs per innings.
T&T Guardian understands that the management of the team tried to get Chanderpaul to call it a day but was met with resistance and as such they had no choice but to go without him.
Yesterday, as the players gathered in Barbados for a pre-series camp, the left hander from Unity Village was absent. This is a clear message that he will not feature against Australia and his career as a West Indian cricketer is effectively over.
It is understood that the selection panel decided that they will go for a young middle order batsman with the future in mind and as such Chanderpaul a veteran of 21 years, will have to hang up his boots.
Meanwhile, on Thursday former West Indies opener Bryan Davis said that Chanderpaul should not be selected to face the Aussies.
"Davis's response as to whether Chanderpaul should be chosen was a blunt: "No!" He then explained, "I have looked at him closely in recent Tests and he has gotten slow with his reflexes. He has not been able to pick up the early which was something he did well in his career and brought him many runs. Added to this he has not been the dependable batsman we have all grown accustomed to watching. Now this is understandable given his age and knowing that the man has been a wonderful player for the West Indies in the past.
"One cannot blame him for the faults I have outlined because he has been around long and is now on the other side of 40 years. These things happen and I am always one who has never agreed with guys playing beyond the age of 40. In fact, as soon as you reach 35, I think that the selectors should be keeping a close eye on you.
"I think that some young player should be given the chance to get a look in because keeping Shiv there is just denying another player a place on this team. Now don't get me wrong, I am not against Shiv, in fact I like him but he needs to understand that being a champion player, who have to know when to give it up. I think that the board should sit with him and get from him his views and inform him that it may be in the best interest to leave at this point."
Three T&T players left for the camp, they are skipper Denesh Ramdin, middle order batsman Darren Bravo and fast bowler Shannon Gabriel. Sunil Narine who has returned from the IPL where he faced serious scrutiny over his bowling action, has not been included in the camp and most likely will not face the Aussies.
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) will hold a two-day retreat at the Acca Beach Hotel in Barbados today and tomorrow and from all reports, they are doing this as part of a plan to improve relations between the board and players. The directors are expected to meet the West Indies cricketers in a social gathering as they look to find ways to improve the relationship with their major stakeholders.