More trouble for Chris Gayle? Rajiv Shukla to bring up ‘sexist’ interview issue with BCCI, RCB

‘Chris Gayle has done it again’, said many after yet another notorious interview the West Indian cricketer gave to a woman journalist. In the with British newspaper The Times, Gayle boasted about his “very, very big bat” and asked journalist Charlotte Edwardes if she has had a threesome. The interview was full of such innuendos and earned him widespread criticism from the cricket fraternity, yet again. [caption id=“attachment_2777224” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Chris Gayle. BCCI[/caption] Earlier this year during the Big Bash League (BBL), Gayle landed himself in trouble after attempting to flirt on-camera during a live interview with Australian television reporter Mel McLaughlin. He had said that he was happy to be speaking to McLaughlin “just to see your eyes for the first time” and suggested they go for a drink afterwards, adding, “Don’t blush, baby.” He was fined over the incident by his Australian club Melbourne Renegades.  Gayle insisted , “It was a joke. She knew that. That’s who I am, the joker.” This time around, the 36-year-old Jamaican told Edwardes that women threw themselves at him in thousands, explaining he was “damn good-looking”. The self-confessed joker boasted about having “a very, very big bat, the biggest in the wooooorld”, adding, “You think you could lift it? You’d need two hands.” Clearly, Gayle did not learn his lesson. But it looks like the T20 franchises may have. The IPL authorities have taken note of his repeatedly incorrigible habit of giving such interviews to women reporters and IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla is reportedly going to take up the matter with the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) management. “The players must behave. We expect the players to adhere to a certain kind of behaviour when the tournament is on. The players should maintain the sanctity of the league. These kind of statements are totally uncalled for in the public domain. I will take up this issue with the president and the secretary of the BCCI,” Shukla was quoted as saying by The Times of India. On Tuesday, BBL franchise Melbourne Renegades’ chief executive Stuart Coventry confirmed that the team will not re-sign Gayle for the next edition. “We’ll unveil our international signings soon and Chris isn’t part of those plans,” Coventry was quoted as saying by News Corp on Tuesday, according to Cricket Australia’s website. Gayle also faces possible censure from his English county club Somerset when he arrives in the UK. Gayle, who is one of the most popular stars in the IPL, will seen in the final on 29 May after Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Gujarat Lions on Tuesday thanks to a splendid knock by AB de Villiers. Gayle himself managed only nine runs in the match. The big West Indian has not been able to make a lasting impact this year; he has scored just 151 runs from nine matches, a far cry from his usually prolific form. He also missed several matches, first due to the birth of his daughter and then after  being dropped .