Birthday special: Shannon Gabriel – West Indies’ mainstay in modern era

Shannon Gabriel is one of the promising pacers who has made an impact for the West Indies at the highest level in the last decade. While Gabriel has been in and out of the Caribbean team due to form and stiff competition, he has managed to live up to the occasions with the ball in hand trying to make the most of his opportunities.

As Gabriel turns 34 on April 28, here’s a look at how good the Trinidad and Tobago cricketer has been so far and how he can still be in the Windies’ scheme of things.

Shannon Gabriel- One of the promising pacers from the Caribbean

Gabriel made his first-class debut in January 2010 where he represented Trinidad and Tobago but it was only in May 2012 that he finally made his international debut during a Test match against England. He made a good first impression with figures of 4/86 in two innings. Unfortunately for him, his tour ended on a sad note in that very game as a back issue forced out, with Tino Best being named his replacement.

Gabriel was one of the 15 youngsters picked up to be a part of the first batch of the Sagicor West Indies Cricket High-Performance Centre and he managed to be on the radar of the national selectors with his consistent performances.  After bursting onto the scene at the international level, Shannon Gabriel has also enjoyed a couple of County stints as well having been a part of Worcestershire and Gloucestershire in 2015 and 2019 respectively.

Apart from his on-field performances, Gabriel has also found himself in hot waters when he made a controversial remark against the then skipper Joe Root during the third Test match in February 2019 as a result of which the International Cricket Council (ICC) suspended him for four One Day Internationals. He was fortunate enough to find his name in the West Indies squad for World Cup 2019 that was played in England & Wales between May 30 to July 14 that year.

The Trinidadian was last seen in action against Sri Lanka in November 2021. As of now, it seems that he is being sidelined from the national side due to the emergence of new and promising fast bowlers. Gabriel would once again be looking forward to making a remarkable comeback into the Test side and at the same time, he would also be hoping to revive his career in white-ball cricket as he has not been a part of the limited-overs setup since the conclusion of the 2019 World Cup.