Gayle slams omission of Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard

[[JUGRAJ SINGH]]

West Indies star opener, Chris Gayle, has slammed the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) for the non-inclusion of all-rounders Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard from the 15-member squad for the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup. The Clive Lloyd-led selection panel took the controversial call of axing the two prominent players on disciplinary reasons, something that didn't go well with Gayle.

Speaking during the post-match conference after his sensational 41-ball 90 helped West Indies chase down a record score of 232 in the second T20I against South Africa, Gayle lashed out at the WICB and the selection panel for their choice of players for the upcoming cricket extravaganza.

"There is no way you can come to me", Gayle said during the post-match media conference. "How can those two guys not be in the team, to me it got to be like victimization when you look at it towards those two guys. Come on, guys. It is just ridiculous. Come on. Ridiculous. Really hurt. Ridiculous. Honestly, it throws 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," he fumed.

"We don't have our strongest team without Pollard, nor Bravo. So that is actually sad for us. It is a really big blow for us to actually lose two key players, two key all-rounders as well, very good in the outfield. I don't know what's the history behind it, but it is ridiculous selection from my point of view," Gayle added.

Pollard and Bravo had already been dropped from the West Indies squad for the 5-match ODI series against South Africa. The WICB announced a 15-member World Cup squad on Sunday with Jason Holder named as captain while Marlon Samuels was named vice-captain. There was no mention of the reason for the omission of Bravo and Pollard, although sources said that the duo were being punished for being the chief instigators of all the controversy that led West Indies to pull out of their FTP scheduled India tour mid-way in October. That angered the Indian board and they promptly announced plans of suing the WICB to the tune of $42 million for the losses suffered.

Gayle went one step further and dedicated the T20 series triumph to the two dropped players. "I'm so glad to win the series. I wanted to win this so bad. There is always a twist. I woke up this morning and saw the World Cup squad. No Pollard and no Bravo and I felt really, really hurt deep inside and that is the reason why I wanted to win this series.

"We have the best team here and to see those two guys excluded is sad for West Indies cricket. If they really believe in our ability then those two guys should be in West Indies cricket, in South Africa for the 50-over tournament and the World Cup squad. It's sad but I'm really glad to win this," he concluded.