BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Beleaguered opener Chris Gayle has been recalled to the West Indies squad for the one-day tour of England.
This follows a high-level meeting in St Vincent yesterday involving the talismanic left-hander, two regional Prime Ministers and officials from the West Indies Cricket Board.
The 32-year-old Gayle and his representative Michael Hall, sat down with Vincent Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer, WICB president Julian Hunte, WICB director Elson Crick and the WICB’s legal officer Alanna Medford, in what CMC Sports understands was a “successful meeting”.
Gayle has not played for the regional side in over a year because of a protracted squabble with the WICB but made himself available for selection earlier last month after the impasse was resolved during an April meeting involving Spencer and Gonsalves.
Though Gayle had been cleared for selection, the meeting was called by the WICB in order to thrash out “residual issues”.
Gayle has been now included in a 15-man squad which will be led by Darren Sammy and sees a recall for Trinidadian opener Lendl Simmons following injury and Dwayne Smith for the first time in over two years.
SQUAD – Darren Sammy (captain), Dwayne Bravo (vice-captain), Marlon Samuels, Chris Gayle, Denesh Ramdin, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Johnson Charles, Tino Best, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith, Andre Russell, Darren Bravo, Fidel Edwards, Ravi Rampaul.
