West Indies opener Chris Gayle has reversed his decision to retire from ODI cricket after the ongoing World Cup and could feature in a Test match for the first time in five years.

The 39-year-old announced in February he was to retire from ODI cricket following the tournament, saying he wanted to “let the youngsters have some fun and I can sit back in the party stand”.

But now the flamboyant batsman, who has made 23 ODI centuries including 215 against Zimbabwe in 2015 – the fourth-highest score in history – has made himself available to play the home series against India in August and September.

Chris Gayle has reversed BOTH his Test and ODI retirements. Says he is available against India after this World Cup. Naturally, this was the first Jason Holder has heard of it. #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/XLIQh2VHKw

— Adam Collins (@collinsadam) June 26, 2019

“I’ll maybe play a Test match against India, and then I’ll definitely play the ODIs against India but I won’t play the T20 series,” the opener said in a World Cup press conference on Wednesday.

ODI captain Jason Holder was unaware of Gayle’s plans until after his news conference. “If he’s dedicated to playing for West Indies any longer then I feel it’s definitely going to benefit us having him around,” he said.

Gayle could be in-line to make his first Test appearance since September 2014 when West Indies take on Virat Kohli’s men at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.