West Indies fast bowler Shannon Gabriel has been banned for the first four one-day internationals (ODI) against England by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday. In a statement released, the ICC revealed that it had found Gabriel guilty of personal abuse in the third Test at St Lucia.
Gabriel’s remarks, which were directed at England captain Joe Root, were in breach of the ICC Code of Conduct. The 30-year-old accepted the charge and was fined 75 per cent of his match fees.
“During the third day of the St Lucia Test against England on Monday, Gabriel was found guilty of breaching article 2.13 of the ICC Code of Conduct, which relates to “personal abuse of a Player, Player Support Personnel, Umpire or Match Referee during an international match,” said the ICC in a statement.
Gabriel’s remark was not audible on the television but according to a Sky Sports Root was heard replying: “Don’t use it as an insult. There’s nothing wrong with being gay”.
On-field umpires Rod Tucker and Kumar Dharmasena then got into action and immediately warned Gabriel. However, charges were levelled along with third umpire Chris Gaffaney after the match.
“Gabriel already had five demerit points against his name for two earlier incidents – three demerit points during the Jamaica Test against Pakistan in April 2017 and two demerit points in the Chittagong Test against Bangladesh last November,” the ICC’s statement added.
“With the addition of these three demerit points, he has reached the threshold of eight demerit points, which, pursuant to article 7.6 of the Code, have been converted into four suspension points,” it further added.
This is not the first time that Gabriel has faced a ban. In November 2018 he was suspended from the Mirpur Test after reaching four demerit points.
