Chris Gayle, Fidel Edwards return to West Indies squad for upcoming T20Is vs Sri Lanka

Chris Gayle is set to return to the West Indies squad for the first time in two years in the Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka. Apart from Gayle, 39-year-old Fidel Edwards was also added to the squad, thus ending the pacer’s nine-year-long international break.

West Indies are all set to host Sri Lanka for a three-match T20I series, starting from March 3 at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua.

Gayle, who was recently seen in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), arrived in Antigua this week. His previous international outing with Windies was in their home series against India in 2019.

“Chris Gayle has performed very well in recent tournaments and the selection panel thinks that he can still add great value to our team,” Roger Harper, CWI’s lead selector, said in a media release.

As for Edwards, Harper stated that his recall was to “give the bowling the potent firepower needed”.

The T20 series will conclude on March 7 and it will be followed by a 50-over format, which will be played between March 10-14 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.

All-rounder Andre Russell is recovering from contracting COVID-19 earlier this month, and despite testing negative over a week ago has been ruled out of the T20I series.

A West Indies spokesman added that fast bowlers Sheldon Cottrell and Oshane Thomas, along with batsman Shimron Hetmyer and all-rounder Roston Chase have all failed to reach the minimum fitness standard in time to be considered for selection.

T20I SQUAD: Kieron Pollard (captain), Nicholas Pooran (vice-captain), Fabien Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Fidel Edwards, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Evin Lewis, Obed McCoy, Rovman Powell, Lendl Simmons, Kevin Sinclair.

ODI SQUAD: Kieron Pollard (captain), Shai Hope (vice-captain), Fabian Allen, Darren Bravo, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Evin Lewis, Kyle Mayers, Jason Mohammed, Nicholas Pooran, Romario Shepherd, Kevin Sinclair.