“The way he’s able to manoeuvre spinners into gaps was something that stood out”

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Legendary India batsman Rahul Dravid has lavished high praise on veteran West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul, stating that he is the one of the best when it comes to playing spin.

Chanderpaul, who is currently eighth on the all-time Test run-scorers list, has represented the West Indies in 158 Test matches and scored 11,684 runs, which includes 30 centuries and 65 half-centuries, at a superb average of 53.10.

He has also played 268 ODIs, scoring 8,778 runs, which includes 11 centuries and 59 half-centuries, at a solid average of 41.60. In addition to that, he has participated in 22 Twenty20 Internationals and amassed 343 runs at an average of 20.17.

“You only have to look at his numbers…the sheer weight of them over the length of his career – which is not a short one,” Dravid was quoted as saying in Modern Masters, which is a video series by ESPNcricinfo. “He’s been consistent, exceptional in all conditions.

“One of the things you probably forget about him is the sense of the style and the way he plays. He’s not really played in a strong team.

“He’s played in an era when West Indian cricket hasn’t been at its best so they haven’t had a lot of success as a team. A lot of his runs has been scored when West Indies have lost.

“The way he’s able to manoeuvre spinners into gaps was something that stood out. Standing in the slips, you’ll be able to see that Chanderpaul is able to turn his wrists at the last minute to people like Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble and just find the gap when he needed to.”