Gayle was left out of the West Indies team for the Ireland-England series.

ST. JOHN THE BLUE (AFP) – Veteran batsman Chris Gayle was omitted from the West Indies team announced on Friday for a one-off T20 against Ireland, but skipper Kieran Pollard returns from injury for the series, which also includes England.

Gayle, 42, was set to say his final international goodbye in front of his home audience at Sabina Park in Kingston.

However, owing of the Covid-19 epidemic, the Jamaican government has stated that fans would not be permitted to attend sporting events.

From January 8 to 16, the West Indies will host Ireland in a three-match International (ODI) Series and a one-off CG Insurance T20 International (T20I).

The two-time World Champions will then head to Barbados to play England in five Twenty20 Internationals from January 22 to 30 at Kensington Oval.

Pollard, 34, returns after missing the Pakistan trip due to a hamstring injury acquired during the last T20 World Cup.

“We sought to keep the overall make-up of the teams from the Pakistan Tour before Christmas, with the captain and several experienced players returning,” head coach Phil Simmons stated.

“COVID-19 has also had a role in the squad’s ultimate composition.” The problems in the coming months will be encouraging the young players in both squads to not only develop their skills but also retain the attitude and passion that we witnessed in Pakistan.

“We need to get the year off to a good start. And we know that both Ireland and England have very talented teams, so we anticipate a very difficult challenge as we work to increase our prospects of automatic qualifying for the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2023 and construct the T20 squad for the ICC T20 World Cup in 2022.”