West Indies batsman Chris Gayle in all likeli-. hood, will miss the home Test series against MFh^L Australia set to start in June. Gayle's chronic back injury is unlikely to help him withstand * the rigors of competitive five-day cricket. The

left handed opener, who has already announced his unavailability for the upcoming home Test series against England, is set for another stint with the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL).

Gayle, who is scheduled to fly to England following the IPL to play T20s with county side Somerset in a tournament whose schedule clashes with Australia's visit to the Carribean, will likely skip the entirety of the Test series. After his stint in the UK, Gayle will play in the second season of the Caribbean Premier League beginning on June 20. The destructive left-hander who didn't feature in West Indies' Test series against South Africa late last year, had said that he has set his sights on playing the World T20 in India in 2016.

"1 definitely want to play the T20 WC next year for West Indies there’s no doubt about that," Gayle said after the World Cup. "But I've got a few concerns and injuries to try and solve. ‘I'm out of the Test series (against England) but I haven't retired from any format as yet "As I go on I will keep informing WICB about my progress in the future with West Indies cricket."

WICB, on their part, said their squad for the series against Australia will be announced in due course. "The start of the Australia Test series is still two months away almost to the day. As soon as we have confirmation of a squad for the series, we will publicise in the usual manner," a WICB official told cricket.com.au.