Quantcast

Renegades leave door open for Gayle return

Head coach David Saker says club open to return for Chris Gayle in BBL|06 despite last season's sexism controversy

The Melbourne Renegades have not ruled out re-signing controversial West Indian Chris Gayle for a return to the KFC Big Bash League in the 2016-17 summer.

Gayle caused outrage in January following his infamous 'Don't blush baby' boundary-line interview with TEN reporter Mel McLaughlin during his season with the Renegades.

Gayle was fined $10,000 for his awkward advances to McLaughlin on national television and his comments were roundly condemned by CA chief executive James Sutherland, who said it could be construed as workplace harassment.

But Renegades head coach David Saker said Gayle's indiscretions and off-field behaviour did not factor into the club's recruiting decisions.

"I just pick a squad of players. If the hierarchies or people in higher positions than myself come down on that, they do," Saker told the ABC.

"We know it was the wrong thing to do and he probably identified that quite quickly. We all did. But I think what happened afterwards was a bit of a beat-up.

"There's still a chance of (recruiting Gayle)."

Gayle was the Renegades leading scorer last season with 260 runs in eight games (skipper Aaron Finch had 246 in five matches before international duty) and averaged 32.5.

He equalled the record for the fastest ever Twenty20 half-century as he torched the Adelaide Strikers for 50 in just 12 balls in his last month.

WATCH: Gayle sweeps England away

However, Saker said there was no guarantee the Renegades would seek to re-sign Gayle with the club intent on shoring up options with the ball.

"To be fair we probably need an overseas bowler though," Saker said.

"We're looking at whether to go down that track or to recruit a bowler from inside Australia

"So we're going through whether we need to re-sign Chris Gayle."

Cricket Australia recently clarified that there was no block from the governing body on clubs recruiting Gayle in the wake of the sexism controversy. 

Sutherland said that with the exception of match-fixers, it was not CA's position to ban players from competing in the BBL.

WATCH: How the Gayle controversy unfolded

"No matter what anyone at Cricket Australia thought (of the incident) at management level, board level, I think you're on a slippery slope if you start making judgements on players who could or shouldn't be playing in the Big Bash League or in our domestic competitions," Sutherland told News Ltd.

"Because, when does that ever end? My view is unless there's a very, very strong reason along the lines of anti-corruption, then it's difficult for us to be making those judgements.

"I'm not saying that it wouldn't happen but my judgement is that it's not appropriate it's about the teams themselves to make the calls."

Gayle played a key role in the West Indies charge to the World Twenty20 title in India last month, thumping 11 sixes in an unbeaten century in the Super 10 stage against England, whom the West Indies would later beat in the final to claim their second World T20 crown.

Gayle recently took to social media to announce he had named his newborn daughter 'Blush' in a move that shocked many given its association with the sexism scandal.