Kingston (Jamaica), Oct 15 (IANS-CMC): West Indies international players could find themselves having to choose between the maroon colours and colours of their franchises with the schedule of their national cricket outings clashing with the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 championship.

The fifth edition of the IPL will be the longest, running from April 4 to May 27, and will clash with Australia's tour of the Caribbean and the West Indies trip to England.

West Indies are scheduled to host Australia in three Tests and five One-Day Internationals between March 14 and April 23, before heading to England for three Tests, three ODIs and a T20 International from May 1 to June 20.

Earlier this year, Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and all-rounder Dwayne Bravo requested No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to compete in the IPL. As a result, they were not available to play for West Indies against the touring Pakistan team.

Gayle was Player-of-the-Series playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore, Pollard turned out for the powerful Mumbai Indians while Bravo played for eventual champions Chennai Super Kings. All three are expected to feature again in next year's tournament.

Meanwhile, the IPL Governing Council, meeting on the sidelines of the first One-day International between India and England here, decided that it will be a nine-team tournament, making it clear that there is no re-looking at the termination of Kochi Tuskers.

The previous edition, held from April 8 to May 28, has been the longest until now with 10 teams, two new franchises Pune Warriors and Kochi Tuskers joining it.