Ollie Robinson handed 8-match suspension, but available to play immediately
England all-rounder Ollie Robinson has been handed an eight-match suspension by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), out of which five games are suspended for two years. The 27-year-old has also been handed a hefty fine of £3,200.
However, the remaining three matches out of the eight have already been played by England. Ollie Robinson, by not being a part of them, has served his compulsory suspension. This means he will be available to play immediately if called upon to England's squad for their next game.
The unusual suspension ended Ollie Robinson's spell of massive ups and downs. Being now available for selection, he could form an important part of England's bowling attack.
Ollie Robinson was banned for his alleged racist tweets
Ollie Robinson had a dream debut against New Zealand last month, where he picked up seven wickets, that too at Lord's, the home of cricket. He also scored handy runs down the order and proved to be yet another all-rounder that could become a big name for England in the future.
However, his old Tweets suddenly started making the rounds on social media and he had to face the heat from Twitterati. Ollie Robinson also apologized for his tweets, mentioning that in 2012-13, he had no clue about racism and that he didn't mean to question anyone about their caste, race or ethnicity.
There were divided opinions on whether Ollie Robinson should be banned or should be forgiven for his old tweets. However, after some investigation, Robinson was suspended indefinitely.
Ollie Robinson had to sit out after giving a sensational performance on debut and that might have given his confidence a hit. However, he will be relieved of the fact that his ordeal is finally over and that he might get a call-up to the England squad soon.
It will be interesting to see if England call him up for the first Test against India.