Gayle undergoes heart surgery

Chris Gayle was forced to leave the field during the Hobart Test due to an irregular heartbeat © Getty Images

Chris Gayle, the West Indies opening batsman, will miss the third and final Test against Australia at the Adelaide Oval, starting on Friday, to recover from heart surgery. Gayle underwent successful corrective medical surgery in Melbourne on Wednesday and was "awake and alert" according to a media release issued by the West Indies board.

He will remain under observation overnight and is to be discharged on Thursday. "We are all happy to learn that his procedure was successful," said Anthony Howard, the West Indies team manager. "The team was confident that Chris would have had a successful procedure and wished him well."

Gayle was forced to retire hurt while batting in the second Test after he felt an irregular heartbeat. He took the decision to undergo surgery after consulting with doctors, and will fly back to the Caribbean after a couple days in Melbourne. Apart from a short period of rest there are no other impediments to Gayle returning to play in the near future.

The West Indies squad will now consist of 13 members and there has been no replacement sought for Gayle.

West Indies squad
Shivnarine Chanderpaul (capt), Ramnaresh Sarwan (vice-capt) Devon Smith, Wavell Hinds, Brian Lara, Dwayne Smith, Dwayne Bravo, Denesh Ramdin, Tino Best, Darren Powell, Fidel Edwards, Jermaine Lawson, Corey Collymore.