Gayle in for a Blast at Somerset

Somerset have made the most high-profile signing to date for this year's NatWest T20 Blast by agreeing a short-term deal with Chris Gayle between his IPL and CPL commitments. Gayle could play as many as six games in a three-week period in May and June.

One of the most feared batsman in the T20 format and scorer of the fastest hundred, Gayle will arrive at Somerset after his IPL stint with Royal Challengers Bangalore is over - possibly in time for Taunton's first night of the Blast, on May 22, if RCB do not make the knockout stages. His final appearance is scheduled to be at Cardiff on June 13.

Gayle has been battling a back injury, which has ruled him out of West Indies' Test series against England next month, but he seems to have little difficulty with T20 commitments. West Indies were eliminated at the quarter-final stage of the World Cup, giving Gayle a couple of weeks' rest before the IPL, which will be followed by his Somerset spell and then the Caribbean Premier League with the Jamaica Tallawahs.