Chris Gayle: World Cricket's Clown of the Month, January 2016

Chris Gayle had a relatively successful Big Bash campaign in Australia with the bat. However, it is not his on-field exploits that have seen him named World Cricket's Clown of the Month for January 2016.

The West Indian scored 260 runs for the Melbourne Renegades, including hitting a 12-ball half-century that tied India's Yuvraj Singh for the record for the fastest 50 in the Twenty20 format.

Yet for all his exploits with the bat, Gayle's season playing T20 cricket in Australia will be remembered for one moment that occurred away from the middle—his interview with Network Ten's Mel McLaughlin on Jan. 4.

The journalist was asking the questions after Gayle had just been dismissed for 41 against the Hobart Hurricanes but didn't quite get the responses she expected.

The full interview can be watched in the YouTube clip below:

There was one particular line that caused a stir, with Gayle saying: "Hopefully we can have a drink afterwards. Don’t blush, baby."

His innings at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart helped the Renegades to a comfortable five-wicket victory, but his exploits with the bat did not grab the headlines.

Instead, the Jamaican found himself in hot water for his comments to McLaughlin.

He was fined $10,000 (Australian)—with the money given to The McGrath Foundation, a breast cancer charity—and condemned by many in the media.

Marina Hyde wrote in the Guardian (WARNING: Linked article contains language that some could find offensive): "As so often, it’s a question of magic numbers. How many women have to say they feel harassed by this kind of thing happening to them at work before it is conceded by some men that it might just constitute unacceptable behaviour? It’s such a puzzle, isn’t it?"

Piers Morgan, in contrast, commented on Twitter, via BT Sport: "I'm absolutely outraged that everyone's so absolutely outraged by @henrygayle being a bit cheeky to a female TV reporter."

Gayle retweeted the comment from Morgan, a former newspaper editor who has never shied away from offering his opinion.

Was it sexist, or stupid? Was it a case of harassment, or a situation being blown out of proportion? 

Everyone had an opinion, and the individual's feelings stemmed much deeper than simply what they thought of Gayle's behaviour in front of a microphone. There was one thing everyone seemed to agree upon—there was no middle ground.

Anthony Everard—the man in charge of the Big Bash—issued a statement via his personal Twitter account:

After his franchise issued a statement that branded their player's comments "completely inappropriate and disrespectful," Gayle followed up with a personal apology on his arrival back in Melbourne from Hobart.

Per ABC News, Gayle—who was dropped as a columnist by Australian media group Fairfax in the aftermath—said to reporters: "There wasn't anything meant to be disrespectful or offensive to Mel.

"If she felt that way, I'm really sorry for that. There wasn't any harm meant in that particular way, to harm any particular person in any particular way like that."

The problem, though, is the damage had already been done. The apology was the obvious move, but it couldn't bring his words back. Gayle didn't help his cause by abruptly exiting the scene at Melbourne Airport after being questioned by journalists.

McLaughlin accepted the apology and insisted it was "time to move on."

She also said, per Hamish Mackay of the Mirror: "I don't really want to be the subject of such conversations. I like just going about my business and doing my job, but it's definitely a good thing that people are talking."

Gayle, however, may not find it so easy to move on—the incident could have ramifications over his future in the BBL. Journalist Robert Craddock claimed on the Inside Cricket television show (h/t Fox Sports):

"

There’s a feeling that he will be banned. He will not return next year.

Cricket Australia will not sanction it and they will take a very strong stance on it, for two reasons: One, because they don’t like his behaviour. And two, because there’s also a feeling that the competition is outgrowing some of its international stars. That it can stand on its own two feet.

"

It has not stopped other leagues signing up the left-handed batsman—Somerset announced the player will be back with them for a six-game spell playing in the T20 Blast competition during the English summer.

Gayle, though, may never again make a splash in the Big Bash.

He fired a parting shot before returning to the Caribbean, putting up a lengthy post on his Instagram account that finished with the line: "Y'all can kiss my 'Black Rass.'"

In possibly his final knock in the BBL, Gayle signed off in style by smashing 56 from 17 deliveries against the Adelaide Strikers. His innings, which included seven sixes, was a fine finish to his season with the Renegades, who failed to make the playoffs, but still couldn't overshadow that interview.

It will be a shame if Gayle—one of the best T20 batsmen in the world—does not feature again in one of the game's biggest markets. However, if that is the case, he will only have himself to blame.

If it was a joke that went wrong, as Gayle insisted, no one has ended up smiling.