WIPA questions Gayle omission from ODI squad against India

West Indies Players' Association has thrown its weight behind Chris Gayle in his stand-off with the Cricket Board and questioned the omission of the dashing opener from the one-off T20 International and first two ODIs against India starting on Saturday.

West Indies Cricket Board had said that Gayle will have to clear the air regarding an interview in which he had lashed out at the WICB for not bothering about his injury after the World Cup before being considered for selection.

WIPA said that Gayle had acted in his private capacity since he had no retainer contract with the Board and was not part of any West Indies squad at the time of the interview.

"In this instance, Gayle was acting in a truly private capacity. Additionally, while this information is conveyed via selectors' notes, the proposed meeting is one of very broad composition encompassing not only the WICB Selectors but WICB management and West Indies team management."

"This begs the question as to the type and scope of the meeting being proposed," WIPA said in a release. WIPA said it would be "examining and evaluating" the WICB's present and future actions concerning Gayle, particularly in light of his impressive form in the IPL where he returned the highest run scorer with 608 from 12 games, with two centuries despite joining late.

Uncertainty remained over Gayle's participation in the last three ODIs against India as he is yet to respond to WICB's call to meet with its top brass and sort out the differences in order to be eligible for selection.

Although Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard are in the 13-man squad for the ODIs, there is no place for Gayle or Jerome Taylor, the other West Indians returning from the IPL.

Gayle had claimed in the interview that he had to foot his own bill to seek treatment in London after being injured in the recent World Cup. He also said the WICB did not communicate him before naming a team for the recent home series against Pakistan.