IND vs WI: Gayle Named In Windies ODI Squad For India Series

During the recently-concluded World Cup, Gayle had confirmed that he will retire from international cricket after home Test series against India in August-September

Universe Boss' Chris Gayle was on Friday named in the West Indies squad for the three-match ODI series against India, beginning August 8. The southpaw will miss the preceding T20 series as he will be busy with GT20 Canada. During the recently-concluded World Cup, Gayle had confirmed that he will retire from international cricket after home Test series against India in August-September. The dashing Windies batsman, who reversed his decision to retire, had announced on February 17 that he would retire from ODI cricket after the World Cup 2019. While speaking to the media ahead of WC match against India in WC 2019, the left-hander said he has had a change of mind. "Chris is a very valuable player and he brings a lot of experience, a lot of knowledge, he lends a lot to any dressing room and it is great to have him in the squad," said interim West Indies head coach Floyd Reifer. The self-proclaimed "Universe Boss" also has the extra motivation to chase two records during the ODI series. Gayle currently has 10,338 runs and needs just 11 more to pass batting legend Brian Lara (10,348) for the highest aggregate in ODIs for West Indies. He has also amassed 10,393 runs and needs 13 to again overtake Lara (10,405) for the most runs by a West Indian in the history of ODIs. "We have a mixture of some experienced and young ODI players," said Reifer. "It is good to have Keemo, John and Roston back, and they will help to bring further balance to the team. Looking ahead to the series, I think we have a lot to build upon following the World Cup. We have retained a large number of players from the World Cup squad, so there is a lot to build on and I am looking forward to the series," he added.