Chris Gayle and Fidel Edwards will be appearing for the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Deccan Chargers respectively in this season's Indian Premier League (IPL), but will be available for a little less than two weeks.
With both West Indian players expected to arrive in England for the return series no later than May 1, their IPL stints are expected to last just 12 days.
There were concerns that West Indies' best players would not have been available for the tour, which begins with a three-day tour match against Leicestershire on April 21, after some of them signed deals to appear in the IPL. However, with the first Test scheduled at Lord's from May 6, a window has opened up for the players to turn out for their respective franchises in the tournament being played in South Africa from April 18-May 24.
One of the complaints which the players raised in their recent dispute with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) was the ruling body's unilateral decision to stage the tour which was organised last October without their consultation and would be contested in direct conflict with the IPL.
The series was arranged bilaterally between the WICB and the ECB, following the withdrawal of Sri Lanka -- whose players demanded that they be allowed to play in the IPL.