Revealed: Sean Paul has been sneaking a surprise cricket reference into all his hit songs

Grammy Award-winning music artist Sean Paul is widely considered the most successful dance hall artist of all time, having over 30 million monthly listeners on Spotify every month.

The International Reggae Entertainer of the Year has dominated listeners' ears for over two decades, releasing hit songs: 'Temperature', 'No Lie', 'Get Busy', and 'She Doesn't Mind'.

Picture – YouTube @Atlantic Records

If you've heard any Sean Paul songs in the last 20 years, you would have heard sing 'Sean da Paul' in most of his opening verses. However, you have been hearing it wrong!

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The highly successful artist is a Caribbean legend, and his famous opening is dedicated to another Caribbean legend, West Indies cricketer Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

Picture – Instagram @shivnarine_chanderpaulofficial

According to sportingnews.com, Paul said: "There is a famous cricketer in Trinidad, Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Everyone was like 'Sean da Paul,' and that name stuck."

Picture – Instagram @duttypaul

He added: "Then I just started to say it in shows and met the dude Chanderpaul years later, and he's like 'Yo!' But yes, big up to Shivnarine Chanderpaul."

Chanderpaul's name has become symbolic of dance hall and reggae-style music, creating the most iconic opening segment that Sean Paul couldn't have dreamed of having.

Picture – Instagram @shivnarine_chanderpaulofficial

Who is Shivnarine Chanderpaul? The man whose name has become more famous in music than for his excellence in international cricket.

Last year, Chanderpaul was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame after a 21-year career as one of the best batters in international cricket history.

Chanderpaul is the tenth-highest run scorer in international cricket and the eighth-highest in Test cricket.

The West Indies legend played 164 Test matches for the Caribbean side, scoring 11,867 runs across his two decades in international cricket. His 11,867 runs are the eighth-highest ever and second to only Brian Lara from the West Indies.

In 2004, Chanderpaul took over as captain from Brian Lara, leading the West Indies into a Test series against South Africa. In his opening innings, he scored 203 not out, the second-highest total of a debut captain.

However, his record of scoring half-centuries separates him from most batters, scoring 66 half-centuries in international cricket, putting him second all-time.

Only cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar has scored more half-centuries (68) than Chanderpaul, who tops the list for international runs scored (15,921).

Chanderpaul now coaches where Sean Paul made his name for himself, serving as head coach of the USA Senior women's team and the USA Under 19 women's team.

Picture – Instagram @shivnarine_chanderpaulofficial

Chanderpaul was awarded the Cacique's Crown of Honour, the second-highest award in the Order of Service of Guyana in 2009.