Gayle hits back at sexism critics

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Chris Gayle has responded to the criticism he received from fellow cricketers following his sexist comments during a live interview in last season’s Big Bash League, with Andrew Flintoff, Chris Rogers and Ian Chappell all coming under fire in an extract from his new autobiography.

In January, Gayle was fined $10,000 by his club, Melbourne Renegades, after propositioning Channel 10’s pitch-side reporter, Mel McLoughlin, during a mid-match piece to camera, in which he first asked McLoughlin out for a drink and then responded to her visible unease with the words, “don’t blush, baby”.

Despite the controversy that ensued, Gayle remains unrepentant five months down the line. “Now T20 is different,” he writes, in a serialised extract of his book, published in The Times. “It’s not Test cricket. It’s chilled and fun and let’s do things different. So when Mel asks me that question I stay in the T20 mind, and answer informal and fun. I meant it as a joke. I meant it as a little fun. I didn’t mean to be disrespectful and I didn’t mean it to be taken serious.”

As Gayle noted, Channel 10’s commentary team could be heard laughing on air after the incident. “But someone up above them clearly decided to step in, and a throwaway comment in a fun format escalates and blows up and within hours it has turned into a major international incident,” he wrote.

“Don’t hate me just because I’m not what you want me to be. Don’t hate me because I’m not who you are. I …

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