West Indies Board-Chris Gayle Spat Ends Unresolved; Gayle Could Miss Tests

It is almost out on the streets now, is the battle of egos, between the two warring factions – the West Indies Cricket Board and Chris Gayle (represented by the players’ association, WIPA). Gayle, who had not been selected by the board in the ongoing series between India and West Indies, for his unsavoury remarks against the West Indies Cricket Board, was to meet them in this connection, before his selection could be considered.

As it turned out, the two parties met but refused to budge from their stance – one trying to make the other apologise and retract and the other refusing to do so. The end result was one that will not endear the two parties to the fans too much – Gayle could be missing out on the Test series against India.

To be frank, it did not come out as a surprise. The two, WICB and WIPA have been at each others’ throat for long. Things had taken an ugly turn when the WIPA had been able to get most of the players to strike work in 2009 and for a sustained period, West Indies played with what was a third-string cricket side. Inevitably, they lost almost everything they played, including a series to the much-lower placed Bangladesh.

Since then, the tensions between the board and the players’ association, led by former cricketer Dinanath Ramnarine, have only escalated.

Earlier, Gayle had criticised the board in a radio interview for its functioning – blaming it for a host of issues including messing up with fellow-cricketer Ramnaresh Sarwan’s career. Gayle also alleged that he had not been contacted by the board after the World Cup and so, when he was subsequently not selected by the selectors, he had had no option but to fly off to play in the IPL. Gayle said that he wasn’t informed that he was going to be given the axe and came to only through the media.

Gayle also said, “I have served West Indies for many years, but I was disrespected a lot, and I have been playing under a lot of pressure. I can't sleep properly. I need to get this off my chest. I want everybody to print what I said, I want to clear the air and I want them to ease up. WICB… back up off my back.”

West Indies will now continue to try out different opening combinations in the fifth and the final ODI against India and the three-Test match series that ensues.