Chanderpaul still hoping to play for Windies in Tests

Georgetown (Guyana), June 28 (IANS) Veteran West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul says he has no intention of announcing his retirement from Test cricket until perhaps the end of the year.

Chanderpaul, 40, was dropped for the two-Test series against Australia in June after managing only 92 runs at an average of 15.33 in the three matches against England in April and May, reports CMC.

He had six single-digit scores and only one fifty in his last 10 innings.

"Definitely, but I am on the outside just waiting to see what is happening," Chanderpaul said on Saturday.

"Retirement isn't on the cards at the moment. Not for now, probably the ending of the year maybe then."

His axing from the West Indies squad sparked a major debate and among those trading arguments on the issue were the former West Indies captain Brian Lara and ex-pace great Michael Holding.

Lara criticised the decision to drop Chanderpaul saying his former team-mate deserved a farewell series while Holding felt Chanderpaul wasn't good enough to retain a place on the West Indies team.

Chanderpaul who needs 87 runs to overtake Lara as the leading Test run-getter from the Caribbean said he wasn't too concerned about the record.

"Well I am not thinking too much about that," said Chanderpaul, who is playing for Guyana Amazon Warriors in the ongoing Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

"You can't have all these things at the back of your mind but if it happens it happens, but if it doesn't it doesn't."