EXCERPTS from much-maligned West Indian batsman Chris Gayle’s soon-to-be released autobiography have been caustic against his detractors.Gayle, who last year found himself amid much controversy for on-air comments to journalist Mel McLaughlin, during the Australian Big Bash League, let his feelings out in his autobiography.
The T20 star had asked McLaughlin out for drinks during the live Ten interview, deflecting cricket questions, before making the now infamous comment ‘Don’t blush baby’.
Former England pace bowler Freddy Flintoff had said Gayle made himself look like a ‘bit of a chop’ after the incident Gayle called ‘a little fun’.
“I didn’t mean to be disrespectful and I didn’t mean it to be taken serious,” Gayle wrote before taking on those who maligned him for the action.
“The only chop Freddie (Flintoff) knows is when he used to bowl short to me and I would chop him past backward point for four,” wrote Gayle.
The big left-hander also spoke about what he called,an overreaction to the incident.
“Channel 10’s commentary team could be heard laughing in the background … but someone 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,” read a line from the excerpt in The Times.
Gayle had also come in for serious criticism from former Australian batsman Ian Chappell, who had called for the dangerous opening batsman to be banned from all T20 leagues around the world.
“Ian Chappell, calling for me to be banned worldwide, a man who was once convicted of unlawful assault in the West Indies for punching a cricket official. Ian Chappell, how can you ban the Universe Boss? You’d have to ban cricket itself,” Gayle wrote.
More interest has been sparked in Gayle’s autobiography after a story broke a few days ago about an interview in which Gayle was said to be at it again.
According to reports from Times Magazine journalist Charlotte Edwards, Gayle made boast of having a ‘very, very big bat’, asking her if she could hold it because it would take two hands.
Gayle is also said to have asked Edwards if she had ever had sex with a black man, and if she had ever had a threesome.
The fresh reports have been labelled disappointing by Chris Gayle’s Somerset side in the NatWest T20 Blast where the left-hander heads next.
Somerset have backed Chris, to some extent though, saying the new incident was not a reason not to pick him for the NatWest competition. (Sportsmax.com)