Gayle to join Windies' training camp

Chris Gayle, the West Indies captain, will join a six-day training camp starting May 12 despite not having fully recovered from a groin injury which he picked up during the one-dayers against Sri Lanka last month. Gayle subsequently missed out on taking part in the Indian Premier League, though he travelled to India to briefly join the Kolkata Knight Riders, who had signed him on for US$800,000.

West Indies' manager, Omar Khan, said Gayle's fitness will be assessed by team physiotherapist CJ Clarke before a final decision is made regarding his availability for the first of three Tests against Australia, which begins on May 22 in Sabina Park. "Chris will be part of the camp and the physio will do a full assessment to see how quickly he will be able to rejoin the team and play again," Khan told CMC.

"We are happy that he will be at the camp because he is a very experienced player and would be able to share his knowledge in the various planning sessions we will have," he said. "We are hopeful that Chris will be ready to face the Australians. As we know this will be a very important series for us. We are confident of doing well, and we hope to continue the good work we have started."

Gayle will join 17 other players in the training squad which does not include Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo - all of whom are taking part in the IPL. West Indies will announce their 14-man squad for the first Test after the end of the camp.