‘Conspiracy to get rid of Gayle, Sarwan`

Port of Spain: West Indies Players Association (WIPA) chief Dinanath Ramnarine believes there is a conspiracy afoot to marginalise Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Daren Ganga because of their strong alignment with the controversial players` union.

Gayle has been shut out of the West Indies side because of an ongoing feud with the regional board while Sarwan and Ganga were surprisingly excluded from their national squads for next month`s Caribbean Twenty20 Championship. "I am seeing a movement to get rid of these strong thinkers," Ramanrine said Friday. "Ganga`s resignation as captain of the T&T team is unfortunate and there is more to it that is being said. I will speak about this more at a later date." Gayle has not played for West Indies since the World Cup in March, after criticising the WICB over a number of issues. He has since been mandated by the Board to apologise before being considered for selection again but has refused. Ganga, meanwhile, who led Trinidad and Tobago for several seasons, quit as captain following the Super50 Series in Guyana and was this week left out of the 14-man side for the CT20. No room was also found for Sarwan either in Guyana`s squad, with selectors contending they were unsure about his fitness status. "I think the decisions are coming from a higher authority," Ramnarine contended. "They have a plan to get rid of these guys by a certain time, so it will be easy sailing for them, with no one questioning them." IANS