One of the best pace bowlers in World cricket Shannon Gabriel has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. Shanon Gabriel puts an end to his 12 year long professional career in which he played 86 matches for the country picking up 202 wickets across formats. The veteran pace bowler took Instagram to share the news regarding his retirement and expressed gratitude for being able to play for the nation.
Shanon Gabriel wrote,”During the past 12 years, I have dedicated myself to playing international cricket for the West Indies,” “Playing this beloved game at the highest level has brought me immense joy, but as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end”.
Shanon played most of the matches for West Indies in the longest format of the game as 59 of his 86 appearances have come in this format. Making his debut for the Carabian in 2012 , Shanon soon established himself as one of the prominent members of the test set-up. In the 59 matches Gabriel took 166 wickets at an impressive average of 32.21. His best performance with the ball came against Srilanka where he showed his class by picking up 13 wickets across the two innings. Shanon was last seen playing for West Indies in 2023 against India .
In his long retirement post Shanon Gabriel also expressed his gratitude to each and every one who supported him in different phases of his journey.
“I would like to express my gratitude to God for the numerous blessings and the opportunities my family and I have received during my time playing for the West Indies,” he said. “Secondly, I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to Cricket West Indies administrators, coaches, and staff members. Words cannot adequately convey the appreciation I have for your hard work and support over the years. Last but not least, I am grateful to my teammates and all those who have stood by me and supported me along the way. You have made my journey to the top truly special”, wrote Gabriel.
In his post Gabriel has also highlighted that he will continue to represent Trinidad and Tobago in the domestic circuit and will be available to play franchise cricket across the world.
Gabriel will be remembered always for his contribution with the ball for the West Indies. However there are a couple of setbacks in his long career. One of them occurred way back in 2017 when Gabriel played a rash shot against Pakistan with only 7 balls remaining to secure a draw. In 2019 Gabriel was again pinalised facing a four match ban for his heated verbal exchange with Joe Root in St.lucia .
