Somerset consulted their captain, Chris Rogers, before they re-signed Chris Gayle for the T20 Blast but the club do not believe his controversial comments to a female journalist in Australia and resulting criticism from Rogers will impact on the team.

Rogers, the former Australia ​Test opener who has taken over the ​four-day captaincy at Taunton from Marcus Trescothick, was critical of Gayle after the West Indies batsman asked a TV reporter for a date during a live interview following a Big Bash fixture. He apologised and was fined £4,900.

Following Gayle’s comments to Mel McLaughlin, which included “don’t blush baby”, Rogers told ABC Radio: “It’s difficult because he could be at Somerset with me next season. From my time at the Thunder I was very disappointed with his attitude and his behaviour, and I’ve not been a fan since. People see these one-offs, but this is a pattern of behaviour. If you know the guy, you see it over and over. To defend it, I think, is not right at all.”

Gayle, who made the comments when playing for the Melbourne Renegades, responded to his critics on Instagram, including Rogers and Andrew Flintoff, by writing “Y’all can kiss my ‘Black Rass’”.

He will play six matches for Somerset, starting against Sussex on 1 June, and will have to line up alongside Rogers, although he will not captain the Twenty20 side. The pair were once team-mates at Sydney Thunder.

Somerset discussed the incident before confirming a new deal for Gayle and their chief executive, Guy Lavender, does not believe the row will be an issue for either player. He said: “We had a discussion about it. Those conversations were important and they’ve been had. We thought his comments were inappropriate but he apologised and has been punished for that.

“It has created much debate, some of it not particularly balanced on both sides of the argument. We have taken a pragmatic and balanced view, bearing in mind where we are at and the contribution he made​ [last year]. He signs autographs for hours, he did young player coaching sessions.

“Matt Maynard [the director of cricket] discussed it with Chris [Rogers]. Both are phenomenal players who will add greatly to our squad. Chris is captaining our four-day side and Chris Rogers and Chris Gayle will be playing in our T20 side. Different formats, we don’t think it’s an issue and neither do the players. We think that it can work.

“They are both professional players and have both been around the block, we don’t see this as a massive issue. We had a discussion the other day, not in particular relation to these signings but does everyone have to get on all of the time in teams? We’re not concerned it’s going to be an issue for us.”

Maynard described Gayle as “the biggest name in sport at the moment”, with the 36-year-old recently hitting a 12-ball half-century for Melbourne in the Big Bash.

Somerset have the option to extend Gayle’s deal beyond the initial six matches if they advance in the T20 Blast and the player is looking forward to returning to the club. “I really enjoyed my time at Somerset last year,” he said. “It’s a great club and the supporters were absolutely incredible. I’m looking forward to seeing the fans again and to scoring some more runs.”