Cricket: Gayle blasts panel for 'ridiculous' omissions

Allrounder Kieron Pollard did not make the West Indies' World Cup squad. Picture / Getty Images

Should the West Indies win the World Cup, it may be a case of "despite" rather than "because of".

One thing's sure, there is, once more, deep turmoil in the Caribbean after the naming of the cup squad of 15.

No Dwayne Bravo, no Kieron Pollard, and with the two matchwinners out of favour with the national selectors, it guarantees the West Indies won't be at full strength for the cup.

And senior player, former captain and thunderous batsman Chris Gayle has launched one of his front foot piledrivers at the selection panel, led by former captain Clive Lloyd, and the West Indies board.

The word "ridiculous" was repeatedly used by Gayle, who felt the two Trinidad allrounders have been victimised over the Bravo-led boycott during the ODI series in India last October. That came about over a contractual dispute with their own players' association.

"How can those two guys not be in the team?" Gayle said. "To me it got to be like victimisation when you look at it towards those two guys. Come on, guys.

"It is just ridiculous. Come on. Ridiculous. Really hurt. Honestly, it throw me off. We can only talk. We can express our feelings, which I'm doing at this point in time. The squad already is announced. It is just sad."

Gayle - who helped West Indies pull off the highest T20 international run chase with a blistering 60 in 41 balls against South Africa in Johannesburg this week - knows the batting lineup will be good but "we won't be at our strongest".

Gayle claimed Bravo had told him the selectors' vision was on rebuilding the team with an eye on the 2019 World Cup. "Basically what they are telling us is we are not going to win the cup but build for the next, which is really ridiculous."

Pollard plys his trade primarily in T20 leagues and hasn't played a test for the West Indies. His ODI record in 91 ODIs is patchy.

He has scored one half century in his last 13 innings and taken just six wickets in his last 21 matches.

Bravo, a more gifted allround player, hasn't been sighted in the whites for four years but is regarded as trouble by the board.

Lloyd, one of cricket's most respected figures, has talked of the need to rebuild the West Indies, who have plummeted to eighth in the ICC one-day rankings.

Seamer Jason Holder, 23 and with only 21 ODIs behind him, is captain while the bowling has been strengthened by the return of paceman Kemar Roach and mystery spinner Sunil Narine.

"We have the talent," Lloyd said, "and if we can play to our potential we have a very good chance of lifting that trophy."

West Indies cup squad
• Jason Holder (c), Chris Gayle, Dwayne Smith, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons, Darren Bravo, Jonathan Carter, Denesh Ramdin, Darren Sammy, Andre Russell, Kemar Roach, Sulieman Benn, Sheldon Cottrell, Sunil Narine, Jerome Taylor.