Chris Gayle recalled into West Indies squad for first two ODIs against England

Chris Gayle has been recalled to West Indies squad for the first two one-day internationals of the series against England.

When Gayle, the Windies’ most prolific centurion in ODIs with 23 and second only to Brian Lara in runs scored, opted out of the pre-Christmas tours of Bangladesh and India he pledged his commitment to the upcoming five matches against Eoin Morgan’s No 1 ranked team.

Previously, the 39-year-old spent a couple of years in international exile but made a return 16 months ago on the tour of the UK and is clearly intent on featuring in a fifth World Cup this summer.

Chris Gayle has been recalled into the West Indies’ one-day squad to face England this month

The 39-year-old big-hitter will use the England games to make a case for World Cup inclusion

Another destructive left-handed batsman Nicholas Pooran will hope to make his ODI debut in Barbados on February 20, following an impressive start to his Twenty20 international career that has seen him return a strike rate of 152.7.

‘As we continue our World Cup preparations, the upcoming series against the top ranked ODI side is a great opportunity for us to gauge where we are as a team. This allows us to identify any areas that need addressing relating to selection and also helps the coaching staff to fine tune their game strategy,’ chairman of selectors Courtney Browne said.

‘We are pleased to introduce Nicholas Pooran to the ODI cricket for the first time. He is clearly a young player with undoubted talent and we believe he can add value to our middle order.

Shannon Gabriel has been rested for the first two games of the ODI series against England

Marlon Samuels has been ruled out of the England one-day series with a knee injury

‘Shannon Gabriel remains very much in our World Cup plans but with a heavy workload expected in the Test series he will be considered for selection later in the ODI series.’

Marlon Samuels was ruled out due to a knee injury.