Maverick batsman Chris Gayle on Monday opted out of the ODI and T20 series against India citing personal reasons as the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) named three fresh faces for the assignment.
"We will be without our stalwart, Chris Gayle for this Indian tour and the next tour against Bangladesh as he has declined selection at this time, however, he has made himself available for the selection for the visit of England to the Caribbean and the World Cup in 2019," WICB chairman of the selection panel Courtney Browne said in a statement.
The West Indies are currently engaged in a two-Test series in India and are trailing after going down in the opening Test inside three days. The West Indies will play five ODIs and three T20 Internationals. The first ODI will be held in Guwahati on October 21.
With an eye on next year's 50-over World Cup and 2020 World T20 in Australia, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has drafted in three youngsters — opener Chrandrapaul Hemraj, all-rounder Fabian Allen and fast bowler Oshane Thomas — in the limited overs squads.
Big-hitting Kieran Pollard, middle-order batsman Darren Bravo and all-rounder Andre Russell have also made a comeback into the T20 squad.
"As we continue our Cricket World Cup preparations, the upcoming tour of India provides a great opportunity to expose some of our young talent," Browne said.
"Opener, Chandrapul Hemraj, all-rounder Fabian Allen and fast bowler Oshane Thomas will get their opportunity to showcase their skills, along with Sunil Ambris, who is returning to the fold.
Russell, however, has been ruled out of all 50-over format due to injury and Alzarri Joseph will undergo a fitness test before leaving for India.
WICB Chief Executive Officer Johnny Grave justified the reasons behind the early squad announcements.
"The team will have a camp before the start of the ODI series in Guwahati, so we had to select the squad before the start of the Super50 Cup, in order to organise flights and visas. With the CPL finishing last month, there was no reason to delay announcing the T20 squad," he said.
As expected Dwayne Bravo and spinner Sunil Narine did not find a place in any of the squads after their names were left out of the 25-player list prepared to procure the Indian visa.
While Jason Holder will be the captain of the ODI squad, the West Indies T20 team will be led by Carlos Brathwaite.