Gayle makes one-day return for West Indies
Chris Gayle is set to play his first one-day international in more than two years after being included in a 15-man West Indies squad to take on Ireland and England next month.
Gayle, pictured, last played an ODI in the 2015 World Cup quarter-final but returned for West Indies in a Twenty20 against India last month following an improvement in player and board relations.
The big-hitting 37-yearold opener and all-rounder Marlon Samuels have bothbeennamedina squad which will be led by Jason Holder, but Sunil Narine and Darren and Dwayne Bravo remain absent.
None of those high-profile players was available to the tourists for the ongoing Investec Test series against England. Without them, an inexperienced team were trounced by an innings and 209 runs in English cricket’s inaugural day-night Test at Edgbaston and must now try to battle back from 1-0 down with two to play when the series resumes at Headingley on Friday.
A Cricket West Indies press release announcing Holder’s squad also contained a statement from selection panel chairman Courtney Browne in which he explained the reasons for the notable inclusions and omissions.
It read: “With regards to the selection of the ODI squad, the panel welcomes back Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels – who will both add value to our batting and help with the nurturing of the young batsmen in the team.
“Both Sunil Narine and Darren Bravo have declined to be considered for ODIS in England. Narine has, however, confirmed his desire to play 50-over cricket again but has asked to play in our Regional Super50 before he is considered – and Darren said he was not available for selection. Dwayne Bravo said he is still not 100 per cent fit, but is looking at a possible return to international cricket next year.”
Gayle, off-spinning allrounder Narine and Samuels are all renowned for their exploits in high-profile Twenty20 leagues around the world but were all unavailable for their country when England whitewashed West Indies in three ODIS in the Caribbean five months ago.