New Delhi:
Windies spearhead Shannon Gabriel has been suspended by International Cricket Council (ICC) for four one-day International games after being found guilty of breaching ICC’s Code of Conduct in the third Test against England a few days back. He was handed three demerits points and 75% of the match fee. He was warned by the on-field for using ‘offensive’ language against the opposition players. Post this decision; the speedster will be missing the first four encounters against England in five-match ODI series.
"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 for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “personal abuse of a Player, Player Support Personnel, Umpire or Match Referee during an international match”, following an incident with England Captain Joe Root," ICC said in a press release.
“Don't use it as an insult. There's nothing wrong with being gay," Root was caught telling Gabriel on the stump mic after being hurled at with apparent homophobic comments. On one hand, where Root was hailed for his exemplary reaction to the sled, charges were leveled against Gabriel by on-field umpires Rod Tucker, Kumar Dharmasena and third umpire Chris Gaffaney.
The pacer admitted using false words against English skipper Joe Root and accepted the ban handed over to him as per the code of conduct. Earlier, he has been charged with five demerit points twice, with one against Pakistan and another one against Bangladesh.
He reached the threshold of eight demerit points which converts to four suspension points as per the laws in ICC Code of Conduct. The player is liable to miss four ODIs/T20s or Tests after four suspension points are leveled against him. In Gabriel's case, the ODI series comes next, which means he will be suspended from taking part in the first 4 games of the ODI series.
Interestingly, the match resulted in England’s favour as they finally managed to register their first win on the tour. The series result went in favour of Windies (2-1) but the Englishmen will be happy that momentum stands on their end.
