ST JOHN’S – West Indies have resisted the urge to include Chris Gayle for the third One-Day (ODI) International against India tomorrow at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground.
The West Indies Cricket Board announced a 13-member squad for the match, and Gayle was again a non-starter, despite Darren Sammy’s side struggling with the bat, and trailing 0-2 in the five-match series.
“The WICB management and the WICB team management have not yet met with Chris Gayle, and as such, he has not been considered for selection,” said a WICB media release yesterday.
WICB officials told CMC Sports Wire on Wednesday that they could meet with the talismanic opener as early as next week in an attempt to resolve lingering tensions. These stem from a controversial radio interview in April in which Gayle heavily criticised the board and West Indies coach Ottis Gibson.
Gayle is unlikely to play in the ODI series, which will end on June 16 in his native Jamaica.
The selectors have made two changes to the squad, with Danza Hyatt and Kemar Roach replacing Dwayne Bravo and Ravi Rampaul.
The WICB said Dwayne Bravo made a request of the selection committee to be given a break from the game, and the request was granted.
This meant that Hyatt now has a chance to make his ODI debut, after he made his first Twenty20 International appearance against Pakistan last month, and played in last Saturday’s T20 against India.
After an intense period of heavy workload, Rampaul is being rested for Saturday’s and Monday’s matches in Antigua.
Roach was rested for the T20I and first two ODIs in Trinidad, all of which West Indies lost, but he played in a one-day club match for Maple in his native Barbados, where he was the most expensive bowler, conceding 63 runs from ten overs with just one wicket.
The WICB added that opener Adrian Barath will spend a week working at the High Performance Centre undergoing intense practice in order to be considered for selection for the Test series, which opens on June 20 in Jamaica.
Barath had been sidelined for the last three months with a hamstring injury, which he sustained just prior to the World Cup.
Squad:
Darren Sammy (captain), Carlton Baugh Jr, Devendra Bishoo, Darren Bravo, Kirk Edwards, Danza Hyatt, Anthony Martin, Kieron Pollard, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Lendl Simmons. (CMC)