London: West Indies captain Darren Sammy left the door open for former skipper Chris Gayle to return in the remainder of the Test series against England after the tourists’ defeat in the opener at Lord’s.
West Indies went down to a five-wicket loss here on Monday to fall 1-0 behind in the three-match series.
They did so without dynamic opening batsman Gayle, who has not played international cricket for more than a year following a dispute with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).
But Gayle said earlier this month he would not be honouring his contract with county side Somerset so as to make himself available to the West Indies during this tour of England.
As he was not chosen in the Test squad, it had been thought Gayle would return to the side for the one-day series against England, which starts in Southampton on June 16.
Gayle has been playing in the Indian Premier League Twenty20 competition but his IPL commitments have finished after the Royal Challengers Bangalore were eliminated from the tournament.
Although his fraught relationship with the WICB means it is unlikely Gayle will feature in the Test series, especially as the second match starts on Friday at Trent Bridge, Sammy refused to rule him out completely.
“Whatever happens outside this squad takes its own course,” Sammy told Sky Sports. “Whoever comes in we will welcome them into the team and hopefully they will help. It is up to the selectors to select the team.”
West Indies have suffered a series of top-order collapses in Gayle’s absence and twice did so again at Lord’s.
Sammy said the left-hander’s experience and undoubted talent would be welcomed by all the squad and West Indies coach Ottis Gibson.
Another change the West Indies are more likely to consider at Trent Bridge is the inclusion of specialist spinner Shane Shillingford.
The 29-year-old off-break bowler was omitted at Lord’s, with part-timer Marlon Samuels providing the tourists with a measure of spin, as it was felt conditions wouldn’t suit the Dominican. (AFP)