“They are eligible to play all our games if they meet our criteria”

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has confirmed that uncontracted players are still eligible to be selected in the national team.

This will be good news for Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine and West Indies Twenty20 captain Darren Sammy as none of them are awarded a central contract for the 2015/16 season.

However, should they want to represent the West Indies, the WICB made it clear that they will have to fulfill certain requirements put in place by the selection panel, which is headed by former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd.

According to WICB chief executive Michael Muirhead, the aforementioned six players were not given central contracts as they did not fit the requirements set by the selection panel.

“The selectors did the retainers based on where they saw West Indies cricket going and the philosophy which they wanted to encourage and adopt, principally being loyal to commitment and really build for the longer form of the game,” Muirhead told ESPNcricinfo on Tuesday. “Lloyd had previously said how and where he was projecting our cricket to go, and how he wanted to build it.”

A few of the six players mentioned earlier have not been centrally contracted in the past due to disputes with the WICB, while others, like Gayle and Narine, voluntarily declined signing a central contract. However, despite their actions, Muirhead insisted that they are still eligible to represent the West Indies.

“When Chris Gayle and Narine refused our retainer contracts some years ago it was so that they had the freedom to do what they wanted,” Muirhead said. “But they are eligible to play all our games if they meet our criteria. This not a penalty.”