Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels have been included in the 15-man West Indies squad for the five-match One-Day International series against England, Cricket West Indies (CWI) announced on Monday.

Gayle last played an ODI during the 2015 World Cup quarter final against New Zealand, which the Windies lost by 143 runs however he did feature in the one-off T20I against India in Kingston last month, making 18 runs before being caught behind off Kuldeep Yadav. Samuels' last ODI outing came in October last year against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi.

Their inclusion comes after CWI's confirmation that they had reached an agreement with the Windies Players Association (WIPA) towards a temporary player amnesty. The decision was taken to give the Windies the best chance of qualifying for the 2019 World Cup, to be held in the United Kingdom.

“The panel welcomes back Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels, who will both add value to our batting and help with the nurturing of the young batsmen in the team,” said Courtney Browne, the chairman of selectors in his statement.

Jerome Taylor returns to the ODI side after over a year.

Jerome Taylor also returned to the ODI side after more than year. Sunil Ambris, the uncapped opener, earned a maiden ODI call up, while Dwayne Bravo, Darren Bravo and Carlos Brathwaite were the notable omissions.

Ambris was part of the West Indies squad that took on India for the last three ODIs in the Carribean earlier this year, but he didn't get a game. He made a consistent start to his List A career, averaging 51.71 in 20 matches.

Darren made himself unavailable for the series, while Dwayne is yet to completely recover from a hamstring injury sustained during the Big Bash League in December.

“Both Sunil Narine and Darren Bravo have declined to be considered for ODIs in England," added Browne. "Narine has however confirmed his desire to play 50-over cricket again but has asked to play in our Regional Super50 before he is considered and Darren said he was not available for selection. Dwayne Bravo said he is still not 100 per cent fit, but is looking at a possible return to international cricket next year.”

The five-match ODI series starts on September 19.

Squad: Sunil Ambris, Devendra Bishoo, Miguel Cummins, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder (capt), Kyle Hope, Shai Hope (wk), Alzarri Joseph, Evin Lewis, Jason Mohammed, Ashley Nurse, Rovman Powell, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor, Kesrick Williams.