Windies fast bowler Shannon Gabriel has revealed what he said to Joe Root during the third Test against England and has apologised for his comments.
Gabriel, the senior fast bowler, was involved in an exchange of words with England captain Joe Root during the third and final Test between the two teams in St Lucia.
While Gabriel’s comments were no heard on air, Root was heard as saying “Don’t use that as an insult, there is nothing wrong with being gay”. Root’s comments suggested that Gabriel may have said something inappropriate.
BREAKING: Windies bowler Shannon Gabriel has been suspended for the first four #WIvENG ODIs after being found guilty of breaching the ICC Code of Conduct.https://t.co/nfh31jlPbL
— ICC (@ICC) February 13, 2019
In a hearing, the International Cricket Council found Gabriel to have breached 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”.
He was handed three demerit points for the incident, taking his tally to eight in the 24-month cycle, resulting in a four-match ban. In addition, he also copped a fine of 75 per cent of his match fee.
Gabriel, who accepted the sanction without appeal, has now revealed his side of the story in a public apology, and vowed to learn from the episode.