ST JOHN’S (Antigua), April 11: Jamaican opening batsman Chris Gayle will be eligible for selection for the West Indies team for the remainder of the Australian series, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) said on Thursday.

Gayle was left out of the first Test side after choosing to play in a special double-wicket tournament instead of for Jamaica in the final of the West Indies first-class competition.

The WICB said at the time that according to their rules a player must be available for their country in any match immediately prior to a West Indies game to be eligible for selection for the team.

However on Thursday the WICB decided after an investigation that Gayle had received permission from Jamaican officials to compete in the tournament and to miss the final against Barbados.

“The board has accepted that Gayle received tacit, if not explicit, permission to play in the double-wicket tournament in St Lucia rather than the final of the Carib Beer International Challenge,” the board said in a statement.

“The WICB has decided that Gayle should continue to be eligible for selection for the series against Australia,” it added.

The board said it had written to Gayle expressing their disappointment at his decision to miss the final, won by Barbados by seven wickets.—Reuters