Chris Gayle makes a return to West Indies ODI side

West Indies v Zimbabwe - 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup — Gayle last played an ODI in 2015

What's the story?

Swashbuckling batsman and self-proclaimed Universe Boss Chris Gayle is all set to make a return to West Indies' One Day International squad for the series against Ireland and England next month.

Marlon Samuels has been included on the side as well which is captained by Jason Holder while Sunil Narine, Darren Bravo, and Dwayne Bravo miss out.

“The panel welcomes back Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels, who will both add value to our batting and help with the nurturing of the young batsmen in the team,” the chairman of selectors, Courtney Browne said.

“Both Sunil Narine and Darren Bravo have declined to be considered for ODIs in England. Narine has however confirmed his desire to play 50-over cricket again but has asked to play in our Regional Super50 before he is considered and Darren said he was not available for selection. Dwayne Bravo said he is still not 100% fit, but is looking at a possible return to international cricket next year.”

In case you didn't know...

Gayle last played an ODI back in the 2015 World Cup and has not featured since due to the problems between the West Indies Cricket Board and its players.

Most recently, he played in the T20I against India which was held last month.

The details:

As the relationship between the cricketing board and its players continues to improve, we could see a lot of big names make a comeback to the ODI squad.

Narine and Darren were left out of the squad as the declined to be considered for the ODIs. However, Narine confirmed his desire to get back to ODIs and will take part in the Regional50 domestic tournament before he makes a return to the national side.

On the other hand, all-rounder Dwayne Bravo confirmed that he is not yet 100% fit.

What's next?

The first ODI of the five match series between West Indies and England will take place on September 19.

Author's take:

Gayle's return to the ODI side will be a huge boost to West Indies given their extremely poor run of form in Tests. He will bring a lot of experience back into the side and will look to give his side the much-needed explosive start at the beginning of the innings.

Things are looking bright for West Indies once again and it will be delightful to see all the big names make a return to the side.