Gayle left out of squad to face India

Kieron Pollard is back in the West Indies side for the first two ODIs against India, but Chris Gayle remains out of favour after his controversial radio interview last month. Gayle has not been chosen in either the ODI squad or the 12-man group for Saturday's Twenty20 match against India in Trinidad, while the fast bowler Kemar Roach has been rested for the Trinidad leg of the series due to his heavy workload.

The uncapped left-arm seamer Krishmar Santokie, of Jamaica, has been picked in the Twenty20 squad, which otherwise has no changes from the XI that beat Pakistan in St Lucia in April. Pollard and Dwayne Bravo could not be included in the Twenty20 outfit having not played in the most recent Caribbean Twenty20 tournament, which is part of the WICB selection criteria.

The selectors were also unwilling to choose Gayle, who slammed the West Indies board on radio after he was not picked in the squad to take on Pakistan last month. In a statement naming the squad to face India, the WICB explained the omission of Gayle, who has spent the past six weeks playing in the IPL with Bangalore and over the weekend was named as the Player of the Tournament.

"Chris Gayle will not be considered for selection to the West Indies team before an intended meeting with himself, the selection committee, the WICB management and the West Indies team management," the statement said. "The selection committee views this meeting as necessary as a result of Gayle's comments in a widely publicized radio interview in Jamaica."

There was also no room for Jerome Taylor, who like Gayle claimed the WICB failed to contact him about how he was recovering from an injury until after he had departed for the IPL. The selection committee said in the statement that Taylor must play a full season of regional cricket to prove his fitness for international level.

The opening batsman Adrian Barath has returned to low-intensity cricket in Trinidad but is still undergoing rehabilitation after suffering a serious hamstring injury before the World Cup, and it is expected he will be fit for the Tests against India. Following Saturday's Twenty20 in Trinidad, West Indies and India play two ODIs there, before heading to Antigua to continue the series.

Twenty20 squad: Lendl Simmons, Andre Fletcher (wk), Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Danza Hyatt, Darren Sammy (capt), Christopher Barnwell, Andre Russell, Ashley Nurse, Devendra Bishoo, Ravi Rampaul, Krishmar Santokie.

Squad for first two ODIs: Lendl Simmons, Kirk Edwards, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Darren Sammy (capt), Carlton Baugh (wk), Andre Russell, Anthony Martin, Devendra Bishoo, Ravi Rampaul.

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Sri Lanka not exaggerated by Tharanga talk

Sri Lanka seamer Farveez Maharoof says the tourist have not been unfocused by a report that Upul Tharanga failed a drugs test during the ICC World Cup.

A Colombo newspaper made the accusation on Sunday and said that Tharanga, who made an winning century in the severe 10-wicket win over England in the World Cup quarter-finals, had already selected a lawyer to represent him at an International Cricket Council hearing.

But the ICC would not remark when asked about the report and Maharoof, part of the Sri Lanka squad currently playing in the first Test against England in Cardiff, which does not comprise Tharanga, said: "It has not been a interruption at all. We have not spoken about it.

"As a team we are here to do a job and we are here to have a good Test match and to try to do well and not worry about what is going on outside.

"He (Tharanga) is a nice guy, a quiet guy who has come over to the UK a few times and played well and he did well at the last ICC World Cup." "He is an recognized opening batsman in our team and he is a genuine guy."

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Zaheer: Windies tour chances for Youngest people

India pacer Zaheer Khan told the upcoming tour to West Indies would be a good opportunity for the young people to cement their place in the national squad. "It is a very good chance for young players to showcase their ability. It's a big tour and if they perform well, they can cement their place in the team," Zaheer said.

India will play three tests, five ODIs and a lone T20 game during their tour to the Caribbean in June-July.

Senior players such as Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virendra Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh will miss the whole tour, while Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will join the team only for Test series.

On the scheduled time of Suresh Raina as the captain for the ODIs and T20, Zaheer said," I want to wish good luck to him. He is a very good cricketer and is performing well for the past two years. I hope he does well."

The 32-year-old pacer said Dhoni was enjoying a great run as a captain.

"He is having a wonderful run. IPL, Champions League, again IPL and in between, the World Cup as well. He keeps belongings simple. He doesn't make difficult things much and maintains serenity. He is a very good captain. I hope that he is even more successful."

Zaheer, who has taken 271 Test wickets and 273 ODI scalps in 78 and 191 matches correspondingly, said he preferred to rest as he required keeping himself fit for the tough series ahead.

"It's obviously a frantic season ahead. We are playing a lot of crucial tours in the upcoming months. Personally, it's crucial for me to keep myself fit - that is the plan. To keep the niggles out and stay on top of it", he said.

"Cricket is my passion. I enjoy bowling," he added.

On whether there be supposed to be a window for IPL, he said, "We already have a window. It starts in April and goes on roughly till May, so that's the window."

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Waqar Younis promise full-strength Pakistan

Pakistan coach Waqar Younis has warn Ireland that his side will be leaving all out to secure a 2-0 sweep of their short ODI series in Belfast on Monday. Pakistan claims a thrashing seven-wicket victory in yesterday's opener at Stormont after bowling Ireland out for just 96.

It was a suddenly wide-margin success in a game that had loomed as a possible banana skin for the tourists. Waqar had admit to being wary of an ever-improving Irish side in their home situation before the game, particularly after Pakistan had only just arrived from their testing tour of the Caribbean on Thursday.

They lay any fears he had to rest; however, as Junaid Khan led the rout with career-best statistics of four for 12 in his sixth ODI. It was an inspiring display from a 21-year-old, who had only taken three one-day wickets before yesterday, and on the back of it Waqar could be exempt for turning to his young players for the final game of a long tour.

Pakistan has live out of hotels for the most part since the World Cup, but Waqar has pledge to select a near straight team as he aims to finish on a high. "We are not leaving to throw all the youngsters in and say, 'because it is Ireland we can take it easy'," he said.

"No, that is not going to happen. "This is international cricket and you do have to give your young people a chance. It doesn't matter if it is England or it is Ireland.

"But you have to bring on your young players when it is necessary. "It's not that you fling them in because you are playing Ireland. "You have to make confident you win and that we are playing good cricket.

"That's accurately what we are going to do." Waqar's warning is not good news for Ireland who lacks any of the insolence that earn them plaudit, and the memorable scalp of England, at this year's World Cup.

They had high hopes of claim an upset in the series to boost their chances of believable the International Cricket Council to reverse a decision to omit the connect countries from the next World Cup in 2015.

The ICC's chief executives' group is due to discuss the option of introducing a requirement system for the World Cup at a meeting next month. Tomorrow's game will therefore be Ireland's last chance to prove their qualifications, which suffered a major blow on Friday.

With that in mind Pakistan captain expects a far tougher test tomorrow, when another rain-shortened match is likely due to predict rain. "Ireland is doing very well particularly during the World Cup. They are a very good side particularly beating England," said Misbah, who turned 37 on Friday.

"We know they are going to give us a rough time. "They are making it hard for other teams and even beating good teams. "So it's a good opposition, it is international-level competition. "You have to play well next to these guys to win."

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IPL: A glorious mix of spice and steel

After recording a drop in percentage of television viewers for the better part of the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League, the TRP rating for impressive finish between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore was more compare to the rating of last year's final.

According to aMap, a TV viewership measurement agency, the IPL--IV final between CSK and RCB scored a rating of 5.8, better than 5.6 which were rating for last year's final. The top clash in Chennai was also the uppermost rated match this season.

"It's a jump of 1.23 percent on the standard ratings of all matches of IPL--IV which is 2.6. With Net Reach of 19.12 percent it is a jump of 36 percent more than the standard Net Reach which is 14 per cent," a let go by aMap said.

"With 55 minutes of time spent per watcher in the finale, it is 40 percent higher than the average time spent of 33 minutes per viewer in IPL--IV. With 30 per cent market share in the ending, it's a jump of 52 per cent over the average market share of 19 per cent," it stated.

In this edition, 10 teams played 74 games over 50 days and CSK retain the title by thrashing Bangalore by 58 runs in the final.

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