KINGSTOWN (St Vincent), March 20: Chris Gayle is set to meet with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and head coach Ottis Gibson in an attempt to end the impasse that has kept the big-hitting batsman out of the national team for nearly a year.

Sources say the meeting involving the former West Indies captain at an undisclosed time and place has been facilitated by the prime minister of St Vincent & the Grenadines, Dr Ralph Gonsalves, and other Caribbean heads of state.

Jamaica Cricket Association secretary Fritz Harris confirmed the talks in the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper.

“A meeting has been arranged between Gayle, the WICB and a few heads of government in a bid to arrive at an amicable solution that could result in Gayle returning to the team,” Harris said.

The 32-year-old Gayle’s last match for West Indies was the World Cup quarter-final on March 23, 2011.

The WICB precluded the Jamaican from selection following his remarks in a radio interview last April. After being omitted from the series against Pakistan last April due to fitness concerns, he accused the WICB of “using the fitness thing to threaten players.”

Gayle also called coach Gibson “a user” in the interview and blamed him for undermining him in a later statement. He was also highly critical of WICB chief executive Ernest Hilaire, accusing him of trying to end his career.

Since then, the WICB has said Gayle would only be considered for selection if he apologized or retracted his statements. He has refused, stating last July that “if you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.”—AP