Gayle is known for his characteristic hitting, imposing physique, and timing. He attributes the latter to being very thin when young, and having a heavy bat.[109] He is known for appearing very calm as the bowler approaches. "Tall and imposing at the crease, he loves to carve through the covers off either foot, and has the ability to decimate the figures of even the thriftiest of opening bowlers" recorded Wisden and ESPNcricinfo.[110] He holds numerous records that reflect his batting style, including record Twenty20 strike-rates and high scores.
"It is instinct... We premeditate at times, but most of those things are instinct. When a fast bowler runs in to me, my breathing is controlled. So you keep a still head, slow down your breathing. Sometimes I actually hold my breath, so I can be as still and well-balanced as possible. If you get too excited, you overreact more, and with the adrenalin, you lose focus quickly."[109]
Controversies
Despite being regarded as a calm, cool cricketer,[110] in 2005, Gayle was involved in the dispute between the West Indies Cricket Board and a number of players over sponsorship issues. These players had personal sponsorship deals with Cable and Wireless, who used to sponsor West Indian cricket. However, since the West Indies had recently become sponsored by Cable and Wireless's rivals Digicel, the West Indies Cricket Board demanded the players dropped their Cable and Wireless deals. When the players refused to back down, the West Indies Cricket Board dropped them for the first Test against South Africa.[119] Gayle later cut his deal with Cable and Wireless and rejoined the side for the second Test. He was charged with conduct contrary to the spirit of cricket during a Test against New Zealand in March 2006 but was subsequently found not guilty.[120] Later that year, during October's Champions Trophy tournament in India, he was fined 30 percent of his match fee after repeated verbal exchanges with the Australian batsman Michael Clarke.[121] He also publicly criticised the West Indies Cricket Board during the 2007 tour of England, which led to an official reprimand and warning.[122]
Gayle also received criticism in early 2009 during West Indies' tour of England, where he commented that he did not want to captain the West Indies any more given the pressures involved, and that he "wouldn't be so sad" if Test cricket was superseded by Twenty20 cricket in the future.[30] From the West Indies, both Viv Richards and Gary Sobers criticised Gayle's comments, as did opposite number Andrew Strauss.[123] Gayle later commented that his statement had been quoted out of context, according to Julian Hunte, President of the West Indies Cricket Board.[124] In an interview with Mike Atherton at the conclusion of a West Indies defeat in their tour of England, Gayle stated that he was not going to resign the captaincy.[125]
In April 2011 Chris Gayle criticised the West Indies Cricket Board and coach Ottis Gibson and did not play for the team for more than a year. On 6 April 2012, Gayle and the WICB reached an understanding that paved the way for the former West Indies captain to return to the national team.[126] On 25 June 2012, Gayle was chosen to be a part of the 2nd T20 and five-match one-day squad series starting on 30 June 2012, in the West Indies and Florida. They won the T20 series 2–0, in which Gayle was awarded man of the series, and the ODI series 4–1, in which Gayle made an aggressive century and half-century.
On 4 January 2016, while being interviewed by Network Ten commentator Mel McLaughlin during the 2015–16 Big Bash League season, Gayle said, "I just wanted to have an interview with you as well; that's why I batted so well," followed by, "Your eyes are beautiful; hopefully we can win this game and then we can have a drink after as well. Don't blush, baby". The comments were criticised by the Australian media,[127][128][129][130] with former Australian test captain Ian Chappell encouraging Cricket Australia to ban him from playing in Australia again.[131] Fellow female sports journalist Neroli Meadows stated that Gayle had been acting in such a way for years, and that he did it to "humiliate" women.[132] Gayle said the comments were intended to be a joke.[133][134] Melbourne Renegades sanctioned Gayle with a A$10,000 fine for inappropriate conduct.[135] On 30 October 2017, Chris Gayle won a defamation case against Fairfax Media after a jury found a series of articles published in 2016 which alleged he exposed himself to a masseuse were untrue and was awarded with $300k in damages for defamation.[136]