THE West Indies Cricket Board’s (WICB) 2016 list of players, who will remain on a central retainer contract, does not rule out the selection of players like Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine and Darren Bravo.

The WICB’s revelation about the players’ eligibility takes on added importance ahead of the West Indies’ bid to win the World Twenty20 tournament, for which it currently ranks number one in the world.

According to a release from the WICB while the players are eligible, they will have to meet the criteria put in place by the organisation’s selection panel.

The WICB has also sought to explain the absence of the players, especially West Indies T20 captain Darren Sammy, from the list of players with central contracts.

“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,” WICB CEO Michael Muirhead told ESPNcricinfo yesterday.

Despite the apparent snub to Sammy and co, Muirhead is urging the players not to turn their backs on the possibility of selection, especially for the upcoming series.

Three of the six players have signalled an unwillingness to play Test cricket in the future, with Bravo and Sammy retiring from the format, while Andre Russell has said he does not want to chance hurting a bad knee playing five-day cricket.

The WICB does not see Pollard as a five-day cricket player, while Narine is rebuilding his action after an ICC suspension from international cricket recently.

Gayle, however, has said he is interested in playing Test cricket again. (Sportsmax.com)