Former West Indies captain Christopher Gayle has accused the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) of pushing a personal agenda against him and blasted CEO Ernest Hilaire, who he said threatened him ahead of the recently concluded Cricket World Cup in the subcontinent.

Gayle is locked in a heated battle with the WICB for his decision to travel to India to compete in the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) against making himself available for the upcoming Digicel Series against Pakistan in the region.

The 31-year-old was left out of the first T20 International as well as the first and second one- day internationals over what the WICB claim are concerns over his fitness level, following an injury he sustained while on duty at the World Cup.

However, in addition to dismissing the WICB's claims that his fitness could not be proven, Gayle, while speaking on KLAS FM Radio yesterday, said he had no choice and accused the board of making no effort to assess his fitness level before naming the squad and shared that he has been competing in stressful conditions in recent times.

World Cup squad

"I have been playing this cricket under a lot of stress and I wasn't supposed to be selected for that World Cup squad, no one knows that. The public doesn't know this but I wasn't supposed to be at that World Cup over one simple thing," Gayle claimed.

Gayle, who has not signed a retainer contract with the WICB, says his place in the World Cup squad was threatened by Hilaire after he questioned the validity of the tournament-specific contract that was presented to him by the board.

"I was threatened by the CEO that I would get dropped we hadn't signed the retainer contract, so automatically we were supposed to get a contract for the World Cup. I received a contract for the World Cup and I simply replied to the CEO asking if WIPA (West Indies Players' Association) approved the contract," said Gayle.

"I got a reply (from Hilaire), copied to all three selectors, the coach and the lawyer stating, 'Chris, we have someone on standby for you, so if you don't sign this contract right now, basically you will be replaced for the World Cup'."

"I took that with me to the World Cup, that hurt me so much to see that they were talking to a person that just captained West Indies and they were actually dealing with me just like that, it was unfair and it ate me up during the World Cup," Gayle said.

Former West Indies captain Christopher Gayle has accused the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) of pushing a personal agenda against him and blasted CEO Ernest Hilaire, who he said threatened him ahead of the recently concluded Cricket World Cup in the subcontinent.

Gayle is locked in a heated battle with the WICB for his decision to travel to India to compete in the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) against making himself available for the upcoming Digicel Series against Pakistan in the region.

The 31-year-old was left out of the first T20-International as well as the first and second one- day internationals over what the WICB claim are concerns over his fitness level, following an injury he sustained while on duty at the World Cup.

However, in addition to dismissing the WICB's claims that his fitness could not be proven, Gayle, while speaking on KLAS FM Radio yesterday, said he had no choice and accused the board of making no effort to assess his fitness level before naming the squad and shared that he has been competing in stressful conditions in recent times.

World Cup squad

"I have been playing this cricket under a lot of stress and I wasn't supposed to be selected for that World Cup squad, no one knows that. The public doesn't know this but I wasn't supposed to be at that World Cup over one simple thing," Gayle claimed.

Gayle, who has not signed a retainer contract with the WICB, says his place in the World Cup squad was threatened by Hilaire after he questioned the validity of the tournament-specific contract that was presented to him by the board.

"I was threatened by the CEO that I would get dropped if we hadn't signed the retainer contract, so automatically we were supposed to get a contract for the World Cup. I received a contract for the World Cup and I simply replied to the CEO asking if WIPA (West Indies Players' Association) approved the contract," said Gayle.

"I got a reply (from Hilaire), copied to all three selectors, the coach and the lawyer stating, 'Chris, we have someone on standby for you, so if you don't sign this contract right now, basically you will be replaced for the World Cup'."

"I took that with me to the World Cup, that hurt me so much to see that they were talking to a person that just captained West Indies and they were actually dealing with me just like that, it was unfair and it ate me up during the World Cup," Gayle said.