A REPORT which appeared on the Cricinfo website yesterday stated that star West Indian batsmen Ramnaresh Sarwan and Chris Gayle have terminated their personal contracts with Cable & Wireless (C&W) with immediate effect.
The report stated that C&W was advised by fax, but Cable & Wireless late yesterday said it had not received any communication from Sarwan and Gayle regarding the reported termination of their private endorsement deals.
If the reports alleging Gayle and Sarwan's decisions are true it is likely that the four remaining affected players Dwayne Bravo, Dwayne Smith, Fidel Edwards and Ravi Rampaul will follow suit shortly. The news will not only mean that they are available for selection but the website said that Brian Lara, whose unavailability was as a result of his support for his colleagues rather than his own contractual situation, could also return to the side.
Sanjeev Datadin, legal counsel to Gayle and Sarwan, said that the pair had decided to act in the best interests of West Indies cricket, adding that all they wanted to do was "play the game".
Any decision to breach the contract would technically mean that C&W could take legal action.
It was unlikely that the selectors would disrupt the preparations for today's first Test but all the affected players will almost certainly be available for selection for the remainder of the series.
