Former West Indies skipper Shivnarine Chanderpaul has revealed that he was forced to retire from international cricket by his country's cricket board in order to attain a No Objection Certificate to play in the Masters Champions League, which starts on Wednesday in the UAE.
"I was given a No Objection Certificate by WICB with a clause in it that I retire on the 23rd .If I didn't announce my retirement they would have taken it back," Chanderpaul was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo."
Chanderpaul, however, said that he was still dedicated enough to play in domestic cricket, adding that he was planning to resume playing for his side Guyana in a few weeks.
"They have a game against Trinidad starting on February 12. Then Barbados, then Windward Islands, Leeward Islands and Jamaica. Those are games that I've talked to them already about going back to play. I've not retired from first-class matches. I've retired from international games," he said.
Reiterating his passion for the game, the 41-year-old veteran batsman insisted that he was still hungry to play and was looking forward to the upcoming domestic matches.
Chanderpaul, who was excluded from the WICB contract list in December, has not featured in international cricket for his country since last May.