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St Johns - Former captain Chris Gayle has angered the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) by making himself unavailable for the entire home series against Pakistan so he could play in the IPL.
The WICB said in a statement on Wednesday that while Gayle was rehabilitating from an abdominal strain suffered at the World Cup under the supervision of team medical personnel in Jamaica for the past two weeks, they repeatedly informed him he would be considered for national team duty when fit.
In the meantime, the board said he wasn't ready to be included in the squads for the opening Twenty20 international on Thursday and the first two one-dayers of a five-match series.
So it was "surprised" to receive a note from Gayle saying he'd accepted a request from Royal Challengers Bangalore to join them as an injury replacement for the rest of the Indian Premier League.
"The WICB does not accept Gayle's reason for making himself unavailable but, as he has already clearly made his choice and has traveled to India, the WICB does not wish to stand in his way," the statement said.
"The WICB is most disappointed in the manner in which Gayle has handled the entire situation, especially given the mature and cooperative manner in which two other players who refused (retainer) contracts - Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard - made themselves available for selection and agreed to an understanding in the best interest of West Indies cricket."
The WICB allowed Pollard to miss the Pakistan series to fulfill his IPL contract with the Mumbai Indians, while fellow Trinidadian allrounder Bravo will represent the West Indies in the Twenty20 and five one-dayers but will miss the two tests in order to join Chennai Super Kings for the second half of the lucrative Twenty20 league in India.
The owner of Royal Challengers Bangalore, Vijay Mallya, expressed his delight at having Gayle, a veteran of 91 tests and 228 one-dayers, as a replacement for injured Australian fast bowler Dirk Nannes.
"It's official now. The explosive Chris Gayle is now a part of the RCB squad after receiving clearance from the WICB," Mallya said on his Twitter feed.
Gayle, who'd starred in the three previous IPL seasons, went unsold during the IPL auction in January because bidders assumed he'd be unavailable because of the Pakistan series.
