WICB, Gayle still at odds

KINGSTON, Jamaica (CMC):

Chris Gayle is unlikely to feature in the upcoming three-Test series between West Indies and India.

Sources with knowledge of the meeting told CMC yesterday that Gayle and officials of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) failed to reach an amicable resolution to the rift that has developed between the two sides in recent weeks.

It followed the West Indies opener's highly publicised, contro-versial interview on a Jamaican radio station, where he slammed the WICB, and was also critical of Chief Executive Officer Ernest Hilaire, West Indies coach Ottis Gibson and West Indies captain Darren Sammy.

Gayle was accompanied by Executive President of the West Indies Players' Association Dinanath Ramnarine and WIPA Vice-President Wavell Hinds to a near four-hour-long meeting that took place at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel on Tuesday.

Hilaire, Gibson, West Indies Team Operations Manager Richie Richardson, and WICB Chief Cricket Operations Officer Tony Howard represented the regional governing body.

"At the end of it all, there was no decision, and the little chance of Gayle playing in the series has now evaporated," a regional cricket official said.

"The players, obviously, wanted the WICB to agree to Gayle's unconditional return, and accept the fact that the comments he made were in the past, and the WICB should forget the issue, and move on.

"But the WICB felt that he had denigrated the board, the coach, other officials, and West Indies cricket, and should not expect to walk straight back into the side without explaining himself."

When contacted, Ramnarine had no official comment to make about the meeting.

During the radio interview in April, Gayle accused the WICB of taking an indifferent attitude to his recovery from an abdominal injury following the World Cup, and took them to task over his non-selection for the Pakistan series.

He claimed he had been forced to pay all of his medical bills after seeking treatment in England for the injury, and charged that the WICB had showed no interest in his fitness status.

Gayle, who opted out of the Pakistan series to play in the lucrative Indian Premier League, was subsequently overlooked for the one-day Inter-national series against India, with the WICB indicating that he would need to explain his highly charged comments before he could be considered for selection.