Gayle fails to sign retainer contract

Gayle fails to sign retainer contract

West Indies Captain Chris Gayle, Vice-Captain Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard have turned down central retainer contracts from the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).

The three players had failed to sign the contract by the deadline date recently but wrote the WICB asking for an extension which was granted but they have since failed to sign.

However, they said that they will be available for selection on the West Indies team.

The other 22 players offered contracts have all signed, paving the way for the cream of the West Indies players to be available for international duty.

Bravo’s decision will be a disappointment but he remains the region’s top all-rounder. He has played 37 Tests and 107 One-Day Internationals and is widely seen as a future captain having already acted in the role on a few occasions.

Pollard, 23, a Twenty20 freelance specialist is yet to play a Test and has struggled in the ODIs with an average just under 20 and in the T20s, where he averages 12.

He has however excelled in domestic T20 leagues across the world campaigning for English County Somerset, South Australia in the Australian Big Bash and Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League.

The announcement of the retainer contracts list sparked fireworks recently after former Windies captain Ramnaresh Sarwan was left out along with fast bowler Jerome Taylor and wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin.