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Gayle, Bravo and Pollard near returns as Windies agree selection 'amnesty'

Gayle, Bravo and Pollard near returns as Windies agree selection 'amnesty'

Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard could be set for a return to the one-day international arena as Cricket West Indies (CWI) called a "temporary amnesty" for players who do not fit their selection criteria.

Gayle, Bravo and Pollard, along with the likes of Samuel Badree and Sunil Narine, have been overlooked by CWI, which has only selected players for ODI duty who take part in the domestic 50-over competition.

With the ninth-ranked Windies acknowledging they are set to miss out on one of the eight automatic qualification spots for the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup, that policy will be suspended following talks with the West Indies Players' Association (WIPA).

A host of big-name players could now return to the limited-overs fold as soon as the tour of England in August.

CWI chief executive Johnny Grave said in a statement: "The agreement forms part of a wider strategy to be more inclusive and to improve player relations aimed at re-engaging all players within our system so that they can perform at their best for the Windies teams.

"We recognise that it is highly unlikely that we will now automatically qualify for the 2019 World Cup, so whilst the qualifying tournament has yet to be confirmed by ICC, we may only have eight ODIs against England and New Zealand in the next six months to prepare.

"It is crucial that we can have our best performing Windies players available for selection in these important games."