Gayle gets WICB clearance to play for RCB

Explosive West Indies batsman Chris Gayle got clearance from his cricket Board (WICB) to play in the ongoing Indian Premier League after Royal Challengers Bangalore roped him in as a replacement for injured Australian left-arm pacer Dirk Nannes.

Gayle today received the No Objection Certificate from West Indies Cricket Board to play in the Twenty20 league, informed RCB owner Vijay Mallya.

Gayle, who went unsold in the IPL IV auction in January after attracting a base price of US $4,00,000, was on Tuesday roped in by RCB to replace Nannes for the remainder of the season.

"It's official now. The explosive Chris Gayle is now a part of the RCB squad after receiving clearance from the WICB," Mallya wrote on his Twitter page.

Gayle was not considered for the first two ODIs of the five-match series against Pakistan, which begins at St Lucia on Saturday.

He played for Kolkata Knight Riders for the first three editions of IPL.