Windies stars for inaugural Pakistan Twenty20 tourney

Injured West Indies opening batsman Chris Gayle is among several West Indians who will be part of the newest Twenty20 Tournament to hit the global stage early next year.

Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Samuel Badree and Dwayne Bravo are some of the prominent players who will feature in the inaugural Pakistan Super League (PSL), a franchise-based T20 tournament to be held in Doha in February 2016.

Gayle recently indicated his unavailability to play international cricket for the West Indies, citing pending surgery to rectify a longstanding back complaint.

The agency that manages Gayle, one of the most valuable Twenty20 players, confirmed that he had signed the pre-draft agreement yesterday. Darren Sammy and Sunil Narine along with former England batsman Owais Shah will also be part of the PSL draft pool. It is understood that the Pakistan Cricket Board, owners of PSL, are seeking at least 25 overseas players for the tournament.