Picture Credit: Getty Images
England pacer Ollie Robinson, who made his debut in the first Test against New Zealand at Lord's, has been suspended from all international cricket pending the outcome of an investigation into the racist and sexist tweets the pacer sent in 2012 and 2013. Robinson will miss the second Test against the Kiwis at Edgbaston starting Thursday.
The all-rounder had put some racial and sexist posts on Twitter around 9 years back when he was 18 years old. The tweets surfaced on social media after he made his debut for England on June 2, 2021.
Post the outrage on social media, Robinson had apologised to his England teammates after stumps on Day 1 of the first Test match between England and New Zealand at Lord's. Notably, Robinson was the standout bowler for England with 7 wickets in the match.
"I want to make it clear that I'm not racist and I'm not sexist. I deeply regret my actions, and I am ashamed of making such remarks. I was thoughtless and irresponsible, and regardless of my state of mind at the time, my actions were inexcusable. Since that period, I have matured as a person and fully regret the tweets," Robinson had said at the time.
Robinson's actions off-field were unacceptable: Root
England captain, Joe Root, after the first Test, said that while Robinson's debut had been "exceptional", his actions off-field were unacceptable.
"He's contributed well with the bat, his performance with the ball was excellent," Root said. "He's showed high levels of skill and he's definitely got the game that can be successful in Test cricket
"But in regards to the stuff that's happened off the field, it's not acceptable within our game. We all know that. He addressed the dressing room straight away. He obviously spoke to you guys and other media outlets straight away fronted up to it. He showed a lot of remorse from that point onwards. You can see it's very genuine from how he's been around the group and the team."
The first Test between England and New Zealand ended in a draw on Sunday. The second Test between the sides is scheduled to start on June 10 at Edgbaston.
Watch the video here: