Melbourne, Jan 5 (Agencie) : Chris Gayle's reputation is set to take further beating after an Australian woman, who was working with the West Indies team during the World Cup last year revealed that she was harassed by the burly opening batsman.
The woman spoke to Fairfax Media about her ordeal. She had stepped into the team dressing-room for a sandwich when she encountered Gayle, who was wrapped only in a towel.
The lady said Gayle, who was with another player, pulled down the towel to partially expose his genitals to her while saying to her: "Are you looking for this?"
The woman was obviously shocked with what she saw and left in a hurry.
"It's that moment when you have a split second to react. I was shocked, and I just walked out," she said.
"You put yourself in an office environment in Australia, and there's no way that's going to fly. Put yourself back in that deserted change room and it's somehow OK for a career professional to be subjected to sexual jokes and demeaning advances."
The incident was detailed to the West Indies team manager and former skipper Richie Richardson, who sent out an email asking players to respect women staff. However, Gayle was not named in the circular.
The new revelations come as a further blot for Gayle, who is already under fire for his indecent proposal to Network 10 reporter Mel McLaughlin during his side Melbourne
After suggesting that he had played well in order to get an interview with McLaughlin, the big-hitting batsman proceeded to direct personal comments towards her. "To see your eyes for the first time is nice," the 36-year-old said. "Hopefully we can have a drink afterwards. Don't blush baby."
Gayle was in top form during the World Cup and even became only the fourth batsman to score a double hundred in ODIs. He drew rich praise for his exploits with the bat but that left the Australian woman feeling sick. "It makes me sick that people like that are emulated as heroes when they behave like that towards half the population, there is nothing heroic about the way he conducts himself towards women," she said.