Veteran Brad Hogg says the Big Bash League should open its arms to a reformed Chris Gayle after another stunning innings from the West Indian batsman.
Gayle blasted a record 18 sixes on Tuesday night on his way to an unbeaten 146 off 69 balls in the final of the Bangladesh Premier League.
He already holds the record for the highest innings, 175, in the shortened format of the game, with his latest knock making him the first man to tally 11,000 Twenty20 runs.
But he remains persona non grata in Australia after a pair of controversies.
Gayle infamously propositioned a female journalist during a BBL match last January, and hadn't played in Australia since.
The 38-year-old was also dragged through a defamation case, in which he was acquitted of propositioning himself to a masseuse during a previous tour.
Hogg, whose tenure at the Melbourne Renegades had not overlapped with Gayle, said he supported his return to the BBL if his behaviour was in check.
"You want the best players available. If he's available, I don't see a reason why he can't come back," he said.
"It's disappointing what has happened in previous years. It's up to everyone to pull their socks up and make sure those things don't happen down the track."
Comparing Gayle's behaviour to drunken incidents by English players on tour for the Ashes, Hogg said "as long as these young players learn from their mistakes and move on and change, by the end of their career they've improved not only as a player but as a person - that's what we want".
Gayle's 201-run partnership with New Zealand dynamo Brendan McCullum ensured the Rangpur Riders won the Bangladesh Premier League final over the Dhaka Dynamites.
After the match, he declared himself "the greatest batsman of all time".
Gayle also struck 126 off 51 balls in an elimination final against the Khulna Titans, finishing as the competition's leading run-scorer.
The Jamaican will link up this week with the West Indies for a one-day international series in New Zealand.
AAP
