Chris Gayle is planning a Test comeback next year

Former West Indies captain Chris Gayle is hopeful he can return to Test cricket next year but said he was simply not fit enough to take part in the ongoing series against Australia. The destructive opener is in Australia to play in the Big Bash League. The West Indies team was beaten by an innings and 212 runs in the first Test in Hobart which continued their struggles in the longest format of the game.

That Gayle and other leading West Indies players such as Dwayne Bravo, Lendl Simmons, Andre Russell and Samuel Badree are playing Twenty20 while West Indies’ Test reputation is taking such a battering has been a major source of cricketing discussions in Australia. Gayle, who scored last played for West Indies against Bangladesh in September 2014, said his recent back injury meant it was too early for him to be playing the most challenging form of the game.

“There’s no way I could have actually been part of that Test team, I’m just coming back from injury. I haven’t retired from the game. Next year hopefully Test cricket is on the agenda. I haven’t batted for such a long time. I scored 92 in a game and the next day felt like I’d been hit by a bus,” the 36-year-old, who made his comeback from injury in Bangladesh Premier league, told reporters in Melbourne. “The body will actually take time to build up gradually,” he added

Gayle said it would take time for the inexperienced West Indies squad led by Jason Holder to find their feet in Test cricket but he hoped they might do better in the last two Tests of the series in Melbourne and Sydney.

“It won’t happen overnight. It kind of reminded me how we used to be dominant against Australia and it’s vice versa now. Fingers crossed they can actually turn the tables,” he said.