Chris Gayle and Jerome Taylor

Chris Gayle and Jerome Taylor at the 8th Annual First Citizens - WIPA Cricket Awards function

Jamaica, June 7, 2011

Chris Gayle and Jerome Taylor at the 8th Annual First Citizens - WIPA Cricket Awards function, Jamaica, June 7, 2011

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M Usman Arshad

Chris Gayle poses with two trophies

Chris Gayle poses with one of his two trophies at the WIPA awards function , Jamaica, June 7, 2011

Chris Gayle poses with one of his two trophies at the WIPA awards function , Jamaica, June 7, 2011

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M Usman Arshad

Chris Gayle made a duck

In the match that mattered most, Chris Gayle made a duck, Chennai v Bangalore, IPL 2011, Final, Chennai, May 28, 2011 © AFP

In the match that mattered most, Chris Gayle made a duck, Chennai v Bangalore, IPL 2011, Final, Chennai, May 28, 2011 © AFP

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M Usman Arshad

West Indies v India 2011

Gayle left out of squad to face India

ESPNcricinfo staff

May 30, 2011

Chris Gayle  remains out of favour with the West Indies Cricket board (WICB) after his controversial radio interview last month and has not been included in the squad for the Twenty20 game and the first two ODIs against India. Despite Gayle finishing as the leading run-getter in the IPL, the board has said it will not consider him for selection until it meets with him.

Allrounder Kieron Pollard is back in the side for the first two ODIs, while the fast bowler Kemar Roach has been rested for the Trinidad leg of the series due to his heavy workload.

The uncapped left-arm seamer Krishmar Santokie, of Jamaica, has been picked in the Twenty20 squad, which otherwise has no changes from the XI that beat Pakistan in St Lucia in April. Pollard and Dwayne Bravo could not be included in the Twenty20 outfit having not played in the most recent Caribbean Twenty20 tournament, which is part of the WICB selection criteria.

Chris Gayle

The selectors were also unwilling to choose Gayle, who slammed the West Indies board on radio after he was not picked in the squad to take on Pakistan last month. In a statement naming the squad to face India, the WICB explained the omission of Gayle, who was named as the Player of the Tournament in the IPL.

"Chris Gayle will not be considered for selection to the West Indies team before an intended meeting with himself, the selection committee, the WICB management and the West Indies team management," the statement said. "The selection committee views this meeting as necessary as a result of Gayle's comments in a widely publicised radio interview in Jamaica."

There was also no room for Jerome Taylor, who like Gayle claimed the WICB failed to contact him about how he was recovering from an injury until after he had departed for the IPL. The selection committee said in the statement that Taylor must play a full season of regional cricket to prove his fitness for international level.

The opening batsman Adrian Barath has returned to low-intensity cricket in Trinidad but is still undergoing rehabilitation after suffering a serious hamstring injury before the World Cup, and it is expected he will be fit for the Tests against India. Following Saturday's Twenty20 in Trinidad, West Indies and India play two ODIs there, before heading to Antigua to continue the series.

Twenty20 squad: Lendl Simmons, Andre Fletcher (wk), Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Danza Hyatt, Darren Sammy (capt), Christopher Barnwell, Andre Russell, Ashley Nurse, Devendra Bishoo, Ravi Rampaul, Krishmar Santokie.

Squad for first two ODIs: Lendl Simmons, Kirk Edwards, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Darren Sammy (capt), Carlton Baugh (wk), Andre Russell, Anthony Martin, Devendra Bishoo, Ravi Rampaul.

© ESPN EMEA Ltd.

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M Usman Arshad

Chris Gayle gives it the proverbial kitchen sink

Chris Gayle gives it the proverbial kitchen sink, Bangalore v Mumbai, 2nd qualifier, IPL 2011, Chennai, May 27, 2011

                                                                                                                       ©AFP

Chris Gayle gives it the proverbial kitchen sink, Bangalore v Mumbai, 2nd qualifier, IPL 2011, Chennai, May 27, 2011©AFP

Chris Gayle whips through the leg side

Chris Gayle whips through the leg side, Bangalore v Mumbai, 2nd qualifier, IPL 2011, Chennai, May 27, 2011

©AFP

Chris Gayle whips through the leg side, Bangalore v Mumbai, 2nd qualifier, IPL 2011, Chennai, May 27, 2011

©AFP

Chris Gayle launches a straight drive

Chris Gayle launches a straight drive, Bangalore v Mumbai, 2nd qualifier, IPL 2011, Chennai, May 27, 2011

©AFP

Chris Gayle launches a straight drive, Bangalore v Mumbai, 2nd qualifier, IPL 2011, Chennai, May 27, 2011©AFP

Chennai's plan for Chris Gayle was bounce with the new ball

Chennai's plan for Chris Gayle was bounce with the new ball

©Associated Press

Chennai's plan for Chris Gayle was bounce with the new ball©Associated Press

Chris Gayle sends one into the stands

Chris Gayle sends one into the stands, Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL 2011, Bangalore, May 14, 2011 © AFP

Chris Gayle sends one into the stands, Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL 2011, Bangalore, May 14, 2011 © AFP

Chris Gayle kicked off his IPL 2011

West Indies news

'Tried exceedingly hard to reach out to Gayle' - Hilaire

ESPNcricinfo staff

April 26, 2011

Chris Gayle

WICB chief Ernest Hilaire has said the board worked "exceedingly hard" to reach out to Chris Gayle before leaving him out of the West Indies squad for the first two one-dayers against Pakistan. Hilaire's statements were in response to Gayle, who had earlier said the board hadn't communicated with him before making their decision. Gayle is currently playing in the IPL, where he started off his 2011 campaign with a sparkling ton for Royal Challengers Bangalore, while West Indies are down 0-2 in the five-match series against Pakistan.

"We can dispel all that Chris [Gayle] said by releasing the letters and emails," Hilaire told the Line & Length Network. "But we should not do that. You communicate with a player, you ask for his opinions, you ask for him to account on certain statements he made, you ask him what's his position on certain things and you expect to be treated with a certain degree of confidence.

"You expect when the coach pulls a player aside and speaks to him there is a certain level of respect for that conversation. And against that background I'm not going to try to prove Chris Gayle wrong. What's more important is to state that we're very disappointed in the way in Chris has decided to respond. I think he is being ill-advised. We've worked exceedingly hard to reach out to Chris - numerous attempts - letters, phone calls, emails. He is being advised and he will act in the way in which he sees best."

Hilaire revealed that the WICB had decided to allow Gayle to play in the IPL, since it did not want to deny him the opportunity. "We've stated - it is not that we do not want the players to earn a living," Hilaire said. "We want them to earn a living but we also want them to honour their commitment to West Indies cricket. So we spoke to [Kieron] Pollard, [Dwayne] Bravo and Chris.

"Last October when the three players did not sign the retainer contracts, we wrote to them and said 'tell us what the issues are so we can address it moving forward'," Hilaire said. "We had some exchanges, a couple of constructive ones, one not very constructive but we decided we were going to continue to engage the players. We did not want a situation where we pick the players to play for West Indies and they miss out on IPL, they are then bitter, disappointed, they wish they were at IPL. We would not benefit, they would not benefit.

"Two of the players [Pollard and Bravo] were very cooperative, very supportive, that they can work out an arrangement with us where they can meet their commitments to West Indies cricket as far as the selectors would want them to but also get a chance to play in the IPL.

"It did not exactly work out with Chris but when the point came and he said he was not available for selection, we did give him the NOC because it is not about revenge, it is not about denying him the opportunity."

Pollard, normally a first-choice pick in West Indies' limited-overs' squads, is currently playing in the IPL for Mumbai Indians. Bravo, who missed all but one game in the World Cup with injury, is playing for West Indies, but is set to miss the Test leg of the Pakistan tour to play in the IPL.

Hilaire said the board was under the impression that Gayle was undergoing rehabilitation, and would be available to play Pakistan once he was fully fit. "We said to Chris repeatedly that as far as we are concerned you're injured, you're doing a rehabilitative programme, and that when you're finished we want you tested and if you're available we'll pick you to play for West Indies," Hilaire said. "If you don't want to play we have no difficulty in giving you the NOC once you say you're not available for selection, and he said he was not available for selection and we gave him the NOC.

Hilaire defended the wholesale changes in the side - apart from Gayle, other seniors like Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul have also been left out - saying it was done with the intention of sparking a revival in the team's fortunes. "If you look at West Indies cricket since the mid-90s a lot of the systems we had in place broke down," Hilaire said. "There's no discipline, there's no application. We've been doing that for 15 years and we've been losing.

"We need to put a new system in place. No one man is bigger than the team, no one man is such a superstar he can decide if he is training today, if he's going to have treatment tomorrow, if he's going to attend a team meeting. It cannot work that way.

"So [the WICB] does not tell the selectors who to pick, we've said to the selectors that we want a team, we don't want the whole team to surround one or two superstars so that if the superstars fail then everything collapses. We depend on two or three people to excel for us to win and if they don't excel we lose. We don't want that."

© ESPN EMEA Ltd.

Chris Gayle had written off IPL 2011

IPL 2011

Gayle had written off IPL 2011 until Bangalore call

Sharda Ugra

April 25, 2011

Chris Gayle says he had written off IPL 2011 and was getting ready to resume international duties before being dropped from the West Indies team for the series against Pakistan. Gayle spoke to ESPNcricinfo on the eve of his second IPL game for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Delhi Daredevils on Tuesday.

"It was to be international cricket for me. Had I been picked, that would have been what I would have done," Gayle said. "I didn't have any thoughts about IPL4. I had written off IPL4, rather I was looking forward to its next year. I should have been there (in the West Indies) playing with the national team, but I am here. It is unfortunate but that is how it is."

Chris Gayle

Gayle said he had never expected to be in this part of the world at this time. The offer to play for Bangalore came "out of the blue at 3 am. After a party." Gayle's IPL arrival was emphatic, with an unbeaten century that set up Bangalore's win against Kolkata Knight Riders after they had gone four matches without a victory. Gayle hammered 102 in 55 balls against his old franchise, leading Bangalore to a nine-wicket win.

He came in to bat at Eden Gardens after having spent the better part of a month without a hit in the nets, working entirely, he said, on physical strength work to recover from an abdominal strain. "An opportunity presented itself, so I am here now to actually do what I can. I have got a good welcome from each and everyone, the players, the owners, and management staff." The abdominal strain? Gayle replied to the question with another one, "What did it look like during the match? That's what it is like now."

In the January IPL auction, Gayle had remained unsold. "It was surprising to be honest when no one took up the bid but based on my knowledge, they said we (West Indies) have a window where we have international cricket at that particular time. So I guess that was the reason, unless there are other things that I don't know about."

Gayle said he did have complaints against the West Indies Cricket Board that had not communicated with him before dropping him for the first two ODIs of the Pakistan series. "I was injured and no one bothered ... haven't I done enough (for the West Indies)? I have given my all and if that is not enough, what is? They left me to fend on my own and I have complaints."

He has followed the progress of West Indies against Pakistan by reading the scores, rather than watching the first of the five ODIs on TV. His interaction with his teammates has been through Blackberry messaging. "I say hi to the guys now and then and wish them well."

Gayle earlier also became one of three West Indian players who did not sign their WICB contracts, becoming freelance players in the several Twenty20 leagues around the world. "I had already pointed out my reasons (for not signing the contract). I thought the contract had too many restrictions and I explained to them (the board) and I explained to the public why I had not signed."

The decision by Sri Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga to retire from Test cricket and choose the shorter format of the game, Gayle said, had little to do with his own situation. "Malinga and I are not in the same boat - so I don't know what's happening with Malinga." The issues of club versus country, he said, could be easily sorted in most cases through communication. "It's simple, they (boards) just have to work it out as much as possible with the individual and see how best we can all co-operate. At the end of the day everyone can be happy and then we can actually move on and we wouldn't have anything dramatic like this."

A window for the IPL would be the next step to avoid what Gayle called cricket's "confusion" between a lucrative Twenty20 league and international commitments. "You have a window for the IPL just like you have a World Cup window. I'm sure there wouldn't be any fuss. That's something they need to take seriously. I'm sure cricket can actually move ahead and everyone will be happy."

Gayle had earlier said that the WICB had left him with no choice. At the moment though, all he wanted to do was, "win the IPL, be on a winning team. That would be the ultimate at this point in time. To lift the IPL trophy and see what it's like."

Sharda Ugra is senior editor at ESPNcricinfo

Pakistan in West Indies 2011

Gayle, Chanderpaul and Sarwan dropped

ESPNcricinfo staff

April 14, 2011

west Indies

West Indies have left out Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan, their three senior-most players, from the squad for the first two ODIs of the five-match series against Pakistan that begins on April 21. Dwayne Bravo, whose World Cup was cut short by a knee injury, returns to the squad and will serve as captain Darren Sammy's deputy, while Antigua-born legspinner Anthony Martin remains the only uncapped player in the list of 13.

Kieron Pollard will miss the five-match series to play for Mumbai Indians in the IPL, while Bravo, who, like Pollard, had opted out of a retainer contract with the West Indies Cricket Board, will skip the two-match Test series that follows the ODIs to join Chennai Super Kings.

The exclusion of Gayle, Chanderpaul and Sarwan following West Indies' quarter-final exit from the World Cup marks a significant step and underlines the selectors' intention to move on and start afresh with an emphasis on youth. "Consistent with the policy to expose young players, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan were not selected," a West Indies Cricket Board release stated.

In addition to the phasing out of the old guard, West Indies also left out left-arm spinners Sulieman Benn and Nikita Miller; Legspinners Devendra Bishoo - who picked up three wickets on his international debut against England in Chennai in the World Cup - and Martin, along with Marlon Samuels, will comprise the spin attack. In the previous edition of the WICB Regional 50-over tournament, Martin picked up eight wickets for Leeward Islands from five games and had the best economy rate of 2.82 an over. He finished with 16 wickets in six games in the Caribbean's domestic first-class competition.

Samuels, who is also part of the squad for the one-off Twenty20 international against Pakistan, won a recall after serving a two-year ban for alleged involvement with illegal bookmakers. Lendl Simmons, the Trinidad and Tobago batsman - and nephew of Phil Simmons - was also picked while batsman Kirk Edwards and allrounder Andre Russell, who were part of the World Cup squad, kept their places.

"We have looked at a mix of players who will take us through the next five to ten years, and with this squad we have put together a youthful but exciting combination of exceptionally talented cricketers who we believe can win matches," WICB chairman of selectors Clyde Butts said.

"There are some familiar faces who have not been included on this occasion, but we have already identified the core of players who we will build the team around. The time has come for us to introduce a fresh crop of players who we believe have a deep desire to excel and who can be tested at the international level."

In another decision, the WICB agreed to consider Bravo and Pollard for selection across all formats even if their IPL commitments meant they would miss national duty. The board had adopted a policy of tying national selection to participation in regional tournaments in the corresponding format - the reason behind Pollard and Bravo not being picked for the Twenty20 game against Pakistan.

"It was mutually determined that Pollard would be best served by being allowed to hone his T20 skills in the Indian Premier League, which will bring future benefit to West Indies cricket," the release stated. "He will not play in the series against Pakistan, but remains committed to West Indies cricket and will be available for future selection to the West Indies team in all formats."

About Bravo, the release said: "Dwayne Bravo, who is also contracted to an IPL franchise, will play in the one-day series against Pakistan but will miss the two Tests in order to participate in the IPL. Like Pollard, Bravo also remains committed to West Indies cricket and will be available for future selection to the West Indies team in all formats."

Squad for first two ODIs: Darren Sammy (capt), Dwayne Bravo (vice-captain), Devendra Bishoo, Darren Bravo, Kirk Edwards, Anthony Martin, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach , Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons, Devon Smith, Devon Thomas (wk).

Chris Gayle looks down

Chris Gayle looks down in dismay during West Indies' loss, West Indies v Pakistan, 1st quarter-final, World Cup 2011, March 23, 2011

©Associated Press

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Chris Gayle looks down in dismay during West Indies' loss

chris gayle's next catch will be his 100th in one day international cricket

chris gayle's next catch will be his 100th in one day international cricket

Full name Christopher Henry Gayle

Born September 21, 1979, Kingston, Jamaica

Current age 31 years 180 days

Major teams West Indies, ICC World XI, Jamaica,Kolkata Knight Riders, Stanford Superstars, Western Australia,Worcestershire

Playing role Batsman

Batting style Left-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm offbreak

Batting and fielding averages

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	91	159	6	6373	333	41.65	10783	59.10	13	33	936	75	85	0
ODIs	227	222	16	8079	153*	39.21	9624	83.94	19	43	944	169	99	0
T20Is	20	20	1	617	117	32.47	427	144.49	1	5	57	34	5	0
First-class	165	292	21	12127	333	44.74			29	59			143	0
List A	288	282	23	10300	153*	39.76			21	59			121	0
Twenty20	56	55	5	1539	117	30.78	1098	140.16	1	10	149	87	19	0

Bowling averages

	Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w	10
Tests	91	99	6857	2995	72	5/34	6/81	41.59	2.62	95.2	2	2	0
ODIs	227	180	6936	5473	156	5/46	5/46	35.08	4.73	44.4	3	1	0
T20Is	20	15	209	254	12	2/15	2/15	21.16	7.29	17.4	0	0	0
First-class	165		12133	5015	129	5/34		38.87	2.48	94.0		2	0
List A	288		8966	6783	210	5/46	5/46	32.30	4.53	42.6	4	1	0
Twenty20	56	44	742	907	31	3/13	3/13	29.25	7.33	23.9	0	0	0