Cricket lovers all over the world were shocked when, much against their expectations, the slightly bent, bow-legged figure of senior West Indian batsman at number 5 did not make his usual appearance, bent down, picked up a single bail from the top of the stump and marked his crease. There was an uneasy silence on the Jamaican Sabina Park cricket ground. What had happened to the star 40-year-old champion batsman, Shiv Naraine Chanderpaul, whose name had not been included by the selectors in the original 14 for the test.
The spectators thought differently. Perhaps, by some last minute miracle the Windies selectors led by Clive Lloyd would change their minds and bring back the veteran. This was not to be. The gutsy, fighter who, time and again, had rescued the team from batting collapses, was finally out of the team despite his 11593 runs, next only to that of Brian Lara. There was a national outcry, and Brian Lara led the national chorus for a recal which was ignored by Lloyd and his co-selectors. Chanerpaul, who seemed to be fighting for his test place, announced publicly he was not going to retire. It was a messy retirement drama which did little credit to those involved in it.
For years,West Indian cricket had been a mess. Overall standards had diminished sharply. Test victories were hard to come by and one-day cricket was a disaster. The Lloyds-Richards era was followed by one of utter confusion. Captains, selectors, coaches fell by the way. Crowds, which would flock to the grounds, vanished. Ad revenue from televised matches fell sharply. The mighty West Indians were now scraping at the bottom of the victory barrel. Barring three or four players, the others had very little money to show for their efforts. Money had split the West Indian team spirit. Spurning measly offers made by the West Indian cricket Board, top ranking professionals like Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and their friends opted to play for the IPL clubs and earned millions, not bothered with the fact that the West Indian national team was getting routed all over the world.
Even for players, who served West Indian cricket nobly, rewards were meagre. Chanderpaul belonged to this category. Lack of style did not bother him, nor did glamour. He did not mind appearing before the cricketing world with black zinc ointment all over his face as protection from the sun. Such affliction had been borne even by great cricketers of the past. Neither well educated nor professionally trained, the West Indian players of the past worked in icy cold England during off-seasons carrying bricks at building sites!
Unfortunately, the inherent poverty of the mother islands failed to provide the West Indian youngsters with decent education or employment skills. It is here we should contrast them with Indian conditions. Despite its huge size very few people played cricket in India as the game was ignored in rural parts. But urban lads, who played the game, were an educated lot and had a city upbringing. They held good jobs. They did not make much money from the game but there was always enough to fall back on, apart from the job and the pension it carried. Even the civil services had its stars: Madras state fast bowler C R Rangachri who clean bowled Don Bradman in Australia. An excellent off spinner, Ghulam Ahmed led India in major tests. Corporate firms like Tatas, ACC, Nirlon and government of India undertakings like the Indian Railways took to cricket in a big way. Under British tutelage and Indian royal houses, cricket flourished under the auspices of the Ranji trophy. Mind you, progress was slow and so was the flow of money. But the Indian win in the 1983 World Cup gave a shot to the game and its organisation.
Live TV caught on. The game developed at a fast and furious rate. India began to win more international tournaments and its voice began to be heard more audibly. Indian representatives occupied high positions in international cricket and the all powerful BCCI unfortunately began to throw its weight arpund around antagonizing other nations. The IPL was a mixed blessing. Though it brought lots of money to the BCCI it affected the credibility of Indian cricket which acquired notoriety and became a byword for greed and ambition.
To a certain extent, more than cricket, cricketers caught public attention. Dhoni, thanks to his endorsements, earned $21m, not bad for a Ranchi boy some ten years back. In Mumbai, Sachin Tendulkar owns most of the city. How much is the new MD of the Indian team worth (Ravi Shastri)? Indian cricketers never had it so good.
Contrast this with poor Chanderpaul who one morning suddenly found himself without a team, benefit or normal perks associated with a top ranking player. Though running a close second to Sachin, Chanderpaul found himself stranded in poor Guyana. No extra benefits or payment, no endorsements, few chances as TV commentator, modelling only for sugarcane, for which Guyana is famous.
Guyana should learn from India how to increase the assets of a cricketing star from millions to zillions. Do you remember the Sachin Tendulkar case? The BCCI had cancelled a test series against a weak foreign team and replaced it with a ODI series, so that it could generate more green bucks. Using other PR gimmicks, according to reports, the BCCI had collected money for the Sachin Retirement fund from everyone (rich or poor), footpath dwellers to Alibagh Bungalow residents, Taj kitchen chains, pavement eateries and so on. The amount collected, we we were told, would soon be donated to Sachin, after he moves into a 100-room villa in Bandra.
There was no response from the BCCI or Sachin on donating 0.25 percent of his ‘benefit’ to poor, old Chanderpaul. The Indians were worried that such a move would set an unhealthy precedent.
