Calcutta: Guyana President Bharrat Jagdeo extended his support to embattled West Indies opener Chris Gayle, saying that the Caricom (Caribbean Community) heads of government should intervene in the impasse between the former West Indies batsman and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).

He also called for term limits for WICB boards and said they should be accountable to the people.

“The Board thinks it owns West Indian cricket, my belief is that it belongs to all of us, the people of this region,” Jagdeo said in the Jamaica Observer.

He said the WICB operates as though they are the “private owners of West Indian cricket” and are helping to contribute to its demise.

“When you have failures consistently, the board is dissolved because sometimes they are the cause of the problem. Here, it does not seem as this is going to happen,” he added.

Gayle released a statement on Friday lamenting his continued exclusion from the West Indies squad. The 31-year-old said the situation warranted the intervention of regional Heads of Government.

“I appeal to the heads of government of Caricom to do something about this situation. West Indies cricket is different from the West Indies Cricket Board,” he asserted.

“West Indies cricket and West Indies cricketers need help. Since you are the people who represent the fans and all the other stakeholders, it is time for you to act.”

Gayle’s call to Caricom comes after a meeting with WICB officials failed to resolve the stand-off. The WICB only stated they “will continue efforts to resolve the issues with Gayle”.

“I think the Caricom should get involved,” said Jagdeo, who earlier backed Shivnarine Chanderpaul in his dispute with the West Indies coach Ottis Gibson.

Jagdeo said what irked him most was “the unpredictability of this board”. “Chris Gayle is being treated unfairly by the WICB. You cannot tell him anything, he needs to earn too, and then you have a tour upcoming and when he goes off, he gets another contract then you are concerned that he has left the region.

“I think it is a vendetta against those guys who stood out, (Ramnaresh) Sarwan, Chris Gayle and a few others who held out with WIPA some time ago when they asked us to get involve at the level of heads.”