Gayle recovering from heart op.

Chris Gayle, the left handed West Indian opening batsman, has undergone successful heart surgery in Melbourne following identification of an irregular heartbeat, and will miss the third test.

Gayle was forced to leave the field in the second test whilst batting at Hobart, and, after consulting with doctors, took the decision to have corrective surgery. He is currently recovering from his condition in Melbourne, and will fly back to the Caribbean in the next couple of days, and thereby will miss the third test.

“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.”

With Gayle’s and Marlon Samuel’s departure from the squad, there is now only 13 players available for selection in the third test, as Gayle has not yet been replaced.

West Indies squad for third Test:
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.