West Indies bowler Shannon Gabriel apologises to England captain Joe Root  

West Indies fast bowler Shannon Gabriel has apologised to England captain Joe Root for their confrontation in the third Test but is insistent he did not use homophobic language.

Gabriel was banned for four matches by the ICC after allegedly calling Root a ‘b***y boy’. Root earned widespread praise for his retort, saying ‘don’t use that as an insult, there’s nothing wrong with being gay’.

According to The Telegraph, Gabriel apologised to Root at the end of the third Test on Wednesday when England had won the match.

Shannon Gabriel has apologised to England captain Joe Root for their third Test confrontation

Gabriel will miss the first four matches of the West Indies’ one-day international series with England after accepting an ICC charge over an alleged homophobic comment

The official West Indies Twitter account shared a dressing room picture of Gabriel with Root and his England team-mate Ben Stokes after the series had finished.

It was captioned: ‘Shannon entertains England skipper Joe Root and Ben Stokes after the Final test of the Wisden Trophy’. 

As well as being banned, Gabriel was fined 75 per cent of his match fee. He misses the first four matches of West Indies’ one-day series with England.

Gabriel (left) was warned by the umpires for using foul and abusive language in the third Test

Sky Sports footage of the incident showed Root telling Gabriel: ‘Don’t use that as an insult’

Speaking about the incident during the Test, Root said: Root said: ‘As a player you feel you have responsibilities to uphold on the field and I stand by what I did. I just did what I thought was right.

‘They’re a good bunch of guys and it would be a shame if it tarnishes what has been a good, hard-fought series.

‘As a player you feel you have responsibilities to uphold on the field and I stand by what I did. I just did what I thought was right.’