Smack! Shivnarine Chanderpaul drives to Lancashire at 43

Two days after Ashish Nehra’s retirement from international cricket, Chanderpaul — another nineties legend (West Indies), who also represented Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL at one point — extends his County contract.

Chanderpaul made his debut in 1994 against England under Sir Richie Richardson.

There are cricketers and then, there are machines like Shivnarine Chanderpaul — the former West Indies batsman. A couple of days after India speedster Ashish Nehra dropped curtains on his 18-year international career , the Windies legend, at 43, signed a new deal with Lancashire to continue his County sojourn.

Both the cricketers hail from the nineties, and have rubbed shoulders with the likes of Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Shoaib Akhtar, Wasim Akram, Allan Donald and the list goes on.

Chanderpaul’s international career lasted 21 years; three years more than Nehra. In terms of longevity, the southpaw almost touched Sachin Tendulkar (24 years).

Read: Shivnarine Chanderpaul: A pictorial collection

However, Chanderpaul will be seen in action at the County for the entire 2018 season. He has hit 819 runs in the 2017 season, averaging above 50.

“I'm very excited to return for the 2018 season having thoroughly enjoyed last year's campaign. The club is extremely ambitious and there is a group of hugely talented young cricketers in the squad,” Chanderpaul told BBC Sport .

The left-hander scored three centuries last season — against Surrey, Yorkshire and Warwickshire — that guided Lancashire to finish second in Division One.

“I've really enjoyed playing my part both on the field scoring as many runs as possible, but also as a mentor to some of our younger players,” he added.

“Hopefully I can continue to pass on some of my knowledge and experience to them.”

Chanderpaul made his debut in 1994 against England under Sir Richie Richardson. He had scored 63. His ODI debut came against India under Courtney Walsh in the same year.

The veteran was also a part of Royal Challengers Bangalore, now led by India skipper Virat Kohli, in 2008. He featured in three matches.