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Chris Gayle has been reappointed West Indies captain for the upcoming tour of Australia, according to reports in the Caribbean.

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) sat down in Barbados on Saturday to approve the selectors' recommendation of Gayle and several leading dailies in the region have reported Gayle's return as leader for the tough tour. The WICB is expected to name a 15-man squad later on Monday.

Gayle, 30, has not played international cricket since the home series against India in July due to the ugly contractual dispute between WICB the players' union. In his absence, the selectors were fielded depleted teams, led by Floyd Reifer, against Bangladesh and in the Champions Trophy. The name of Daren Ganga, who captained Trinidad & Tobago to the final of the inaugural Champions League, has been closely linked in the ever-changing story of the captaincy.

Gayle has led the side since 2007 but said in May that he wasn't intending to remain in the job in the long term and would also consider giving up Test cricket in the near future. His comments frustrated the WICB's new chief executive Ernest Hilaire, who said in September that Gayle's future as the captain was not guaranteed, but after several months off due to the player strike Gayle is simply keen to return to any form of cricket.

John Dyson, the recently deposed West Indies coach, revealed selectors had previously balked at moves to restore Ganga to the captaincy over concerns that his batting was not up to the rigours of international cricket. Ganga scored three centuries in 48 Tests between 1998 and 2008, averaging just 25.71.

"There was certainly some hesitation there," Dyson told Cricinfo. "Daren is obviously an impressive bloke and he is well suited to leading the Trinidadian side, but from my talks with selectors, the feeling was that he had not really grasped his opportunities in his 48 Tests.

"I think Gayle will probably hold onto the captaincy, but it would be wise of the selectors to find out just how committed he is to it. He had a lot of learning to do in terms of leadership when he first took on the job, but I think he has the raw materials to be a good captain. Many of the things that have happened to the West Indies team haven't been his fault. A lot of people would be tempted by the IPL and other leagues, and I think more and more players will let it be known that they are not totally committed to their teams. If Chris is committed to international cricket, I think he could yet be a good captain."

Gayle has had mixed results as captain, winning three Tests out of 14 and 13 ODIs out of 38. He led West Indies to two series wins in one-dayers, including an away victory against England last year, and against the touring Sri Lanka. He presided over a surprise win in the first Test against South Africa in Johannesburg but his side went on to lose the next two games and the series. His other Test wins came against Sri Lanka in Port-of-Spain to level the two match series and a deciding win over England at home earlier this year, before West Indies handed back the Wisden Trophy when they toured just after