ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Chris Gayle was overlooked for the West Indies Test side that will face India in three Tests later this month.
This follows the decision of the regional selection panel to persist with the same 15-member squad that is currently engaged in Bangladesh with Lendl Simmons returning home to nurse his back injury.
Gayle remains estranged from the regional side, following his dispute with the West Indies Cricket Board over his comments on a Jamaican radio station last May.
The WICB has demanded an apology from Gayle for his remarks, but the opener refused, requesting to know for what he should apologise.
Gayle remains an enormously popular figure among West Indies fans, gaining loud cheers from spectators in Guyana, where he led Jamaica to the Clive Lloyd Trophy for winning the Regional Super50 tournament last Saturday at the Guyana National Stadium.
As a result, West Indies will persist with the young pair of teenager Kraigg Brathwaite and left-hander Kieran Powell with Adrian Barath considered fit enough to make the trip over the border.
Barath has recovered from the hamstring injury that sidelined him during the One-day International series in Bangladesh.
He did not return home, remaining with the team in Dhaka, where he has been under the eye of West Indies coach Ottis Gibson and team trainer C.J. Clark.
West Indies leave Bangladesh on November 3 for India, where the first Test starts next Monday in Delhi. Matches in Kolkata and Mumbai follow with a series of five One-day Internationals bringing the trip to a close.
Squad: Darren Sammy (captain), Adrian Barath, Carlton Baugh, Devendra Bishoo, Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Fidel Edwards, Kirk Edwards, Kieran Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels, Shane Shillingford
