Ramnaresh Sarwan yesterday broke his silence on being overlooked for a West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) retainer contract because he was not fit enough by stating that he was not surprised by the decision.
For Sarwan, the writing was on the wall, especially when he considered the signals that he had been receiving.
He told Stabroek Sport in an interview yesterday at the Princess Hotel where the Guyana team is encamped that when he was contacted on the Board’s decision he stated “I wasn’t surprised, I was expecting it because I can read between the lines.”
Sarwan was one of three high profile players who have not received retainer contracts from the WICB – wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin and pacer Jerome Taylor being the other two.
An e-mail from the WICB on Tuesday said “Sarwan and Taylor’s limited availability for the West Indies over the past year due to injuries weighed heavily against them.”
A board statement, according to Reuters, also said “The team management, the selection committee and the West Indies Cricket Board are concerned about Mr. Sarwan’s extremely indifferent attitude and sporadic approach towards fitness, particularly in recent years”.
It added “Ramnaresh’s less than satisfactory and fluctuating fitness levels have directly contributed to multiple injuries thereby causing him to be unavailable for selection to the West Indies team”.
The trio of Narsingh Deonarine, Dave Bernard Jr. and Travis Dowlin have also been overlooked.
However, the elegant right hander who has so far played 83 Test matches and scored 15 centuries and 31 half centuries, indicated that he is not in a position to question anybody’s decision. Sarwan, 30, further stated that his main focus at the moment is leading his Guyana side in South Africa for the Airtel Champions League T20 tournament that commences on September 12.
“It really did not surprise me but I guess they (WI selectors) are the ones in control and they are just doing what they think is right. I am not in a situation where I can question anybody and so forth but I’ve got cricket to play and concentrate on the CL T20 and that is my focus right now,” the batsman who averages above 40 in Tests, ODIs and first class said.
According to Sarwan, who has over 5,000 Test and ODI runs, when he returns from the club tournament in South Africa he will be concentrating on future plans, making reference to upcoming Test and ODI series in Sri Lanka in November. In the meantime, he believes that he should bide his time and see what unfolds in the next couple of months.
“When I come back from there (South Africa) we will see what happens. Obviously there is the tour to Sri Lanka this year and the World Cup (next year in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India) so we just have to wait and see and if not selected then we [I] will just have to make some decisions,” the former West Indies captain stressed.
When Sarwan was grilled on whether he was satisfied with his performance for the WI team over the past two years he acknowledged that he could have performed better by converting more of his half centuries into centuries. He said he strives to do well for any team but there are shortcomings on occasions but he will remain committed to West Indies cricket and cricket in general.
On the other hand he posited that his contribution to the team “could have been worse.”
Team Spirit
The team spirit of the national team is on a high, he observed, adding that it will be inspirational for the players as they move forward to their challenge on the African continent.
This can be attributed to the preparation of the team that wrapped up its sessions yesterday at the Guyana National Stadium with a warm-up match against a Rest XI.
Two concerns of Sarwan though were the bowling at the “death” and his team squandering a strong position (referring to the first practice match on Saturday). But he is optimistic that the team will get it right by the time their first match against the Royal Challengers Bangalore on September 12.
In the meantime, he is satisfied with the preparation of the team and the two practice games it played against Trinidad & Tobago last weekend.
“Team spirit is very high and that is something that has inspired us to work hard but generally in preparation we have been coming along very well, just a bit of a problem with the death bowling but I am pretty sure that the guys will get it right when the tournament starts.
“We discussed it after the game and obviously we did not want to be in a position like that and let it slip away. We thought we lost the game in the middle overs where we did not rotate the strike and that was something that we worked on and on Sunday there was great improvement,” Sarwan said.
The strength of the team, Sarwan believes, is its batting but equally there are batsmen who can bowl. He assured that he will be leading from the front at all times but he is equally conscious that the other players have been playing their roles.
Should this continue Sarwan feels that there will be the requisite success in South Africa. More importantly, Sarwan said, he has been encouraging his charges, especially those who have not played international cricket before, to be realistic.
Sarwan, who was the youngest Guyanese to play first class cricket, said that the players are constantly being told they may be playing against their role models in world cricket but their focus should be on the game at all times.
For Sarwan if the team should “stay mentally strong” then it can beat any opposition. “We got to accept the fact and it is reality that these guys look up to some of them (international cricketers) but we have to make sure we execute our plan and if we can do that we will be fine,” Sarwan concluded.
