Chris Gayle - File photos

KOLKATA, India (CMC)

West Indies captain Chris Gayle is set to miss the entire first edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) because of his groin injury.

Gayle has not yet fully recovered from the injury he suffered in the third one-day international (ODI) against Sri Lanka last Tuesday in St Lucia and it is reported that he will miss the inaugural playing of the big-money series.

After the big Jamaican all-rounder hurt his groin while fielding at Beausejour Stadium and missed the Kolkata Knight Riders' first two games, newspapers here are reporting that he has been declared "unavailable for the rest of the tournament".

And while it is reported that he will be in Kolkata in the first week of May to spend some time with the team, Cricinfo website is quoting a team spokesman as suggesting that a final decision on Gayle's appearance is yet to be made.

"He's injured but he's still not out of the tournament. No decision has been made yet," a franchise spokesman told Cricinfo.

Gayle is one of four West Indies players signed to play in the IPL.

The West Indies quartet, completed by Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo, have not been listed to complete the entire tournament as they must return to the Caribbean on May 18, in time for their series against Australia.