Chris Gayle was the leading run-scorer for the Melbourne Renegades in the previous season with 260 runs from eight games.
©REUTERS / Action Images
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Cricket Australia has no plans to ban Chris Gayle from Big Bash League
.jpg "Cricket Australia has no plans to ban Chris Gayle from Big Bash League")
Cricket Australia (CA) chief executive James Sutherland has confirmed that the board will not ban West Indies batsman Chris Gayle from the Big Bash League and the call of including him has been left to the respective teams.
Gayle was involved in an interview with reporter Mel McLaughlin in the previous season of the Big Bash League where his comments were deemed inappropriate and was fined $10,000 for his actions.
However, Sutherland confirmed that CA will be setting a bad precedent if they start to judge what kind of players should be playing in the tournament.
Furthermore, Sutherland added that the board will only involve in suspending those players, who are involved in serious offences on the lines of breaching the anti-corruption code.
“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 featured for the Melbourne Renegades in the last season of the Big Bash League and was the highest scorer for the team with 260 runs from eight matches.
The chairman of Melbourne Renegades, Jason Dunstall confirmed that the team management has kept all their options open and are not against the signing of Gayle.
“You’d like to think there’s a place for everybody (in the BBL),” said Dunstall.
“The excitement he (Gayle) can generate is extraordinary.
“We want all those types of players on display. That’s the idea.
“What we want is the best players in the world at the BBL.”
In the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League, Gayle has scored just one run from two games before taking a short leave to be with his partner, Natasha Berridge for the birth of their first child.
© Cricket World 2016
