Shivnarine Chanderpaul is considerably one of the greats to take the field but his contribution to Caribbean cricket are not well recognized making him an underrated prospect for many. In a career lasting for over 2 decades he notched up close to 12,000 runs in test matches and close to 9,000 runs in ODIs. His batting style was not too fancy with a slightly unique crab like stance but that was enough to get him over 20,000 International runs. Another thing that kept him in the talks was the patches below the eyes, and many don’t know about it yet.
The cricketers are a style statement in every sphere of life, they are trendy with their outfits their sunglasses and even with their hairstyle but Chanderpaul ‘s dark patches were often used to be considered as his own style but that was not the case with him.
He actually used dark stickers below his eyes, those stickers were anti-glare patches which are used to reduce light entering the peripheral area of the eyes so that the glare of sunlight doesn’t affect him while batting or while fielding. This glare technique is also used in the American football.
The anti-glare also help in protecting eyes from the scorching heat. There has been a wide debate on the topic and experts claim that this technique doesn’t help much but the players who have used it believe that it does help them.
It is believed that Chanderpaul used Mueller’ brand anti-glare patches but didn’t preferred anti-glare sunglasses. However, he was not allowed to use branded anti-glare patches during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 as per the ICC guidelines for endorsements and commercials.
Players in the Caribbean often use this technique considering the direct sunlight in the course of 12 months with the high level of temperature and humidity.
