West Indies Gabriel suspended for sledging

Dubai [UAE]: International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday suspended West Indies seamer Shannon Gabriel for the first four ODIs of the upcoming five-match series against England for a sledging incident involving English captain Joe Root.

Gabriel hurled an anti-gay remark at English captain Joe Root during the recent third Test between both the sides.

During the third day of the St Lucia Test against England on February 11, 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”

Gabriel admitted the offence after the end of the match and accepted the sanction proposed by Jeff Crowe of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees and, as such, there was no need for a formal hearing.

On-field umpires Rod Tucker and Kumar Dharmasena and third umpire Chris Gaffaney levelled the charges. Level 2 breaches carry a penalty of between 50 -100 per cent of a player’s match fee or 1 or 2 suspension points. A guilty finding will also see either three or four demerit points added to the player’s disciplinary record.

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.

With the addition of three demerit points within a 24-month period following his latest breach of the ICC Code of Conduct, for which he received a 75 per cent fine and 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.

Four suspension points equate to a ban from two Tests, or four ODIs or T20Is, whatever comes first for the player.

Gabriel had earlier been suspended from the Mirpur Test in November 2018 when he reached the threshold of four demerit points.

[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]