In 2012, Chris Gayle made news, but not for his big hits or quirky celebrations. Security officials at the Cinnamon Grand hotel in Sri Lanka arrested three British women in the wee hours for socialising with Gayle in his room along with teammates Andre Russell, Dwayne Smith and Fidel Edwards, raising concerns from police authorities and ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit. The women were later released from custody.

Police treated it as a breach of security, because the players have been accorded the security levels reserved for heads of the state, making hotel floors out of bounds for outsiders. Though players are allowed to bring guests into their rooms, they are supposed to register the names with the hotel security. The trouble began when the women’s names were not in the list, and the players refused to recognise them as their guests.

“Ministerial Security Division (MSD) guards, assigned to protect the players, carried out the arrest and the three women were handed over to the Kollupitiya police station for further investigations,” the police said in a statement.