South African cricketer Herschelle Gibbs will enter a month-long alcohol rehabilitation programme starting on Monday.
”Herschelle is feeling quite positive,” the player’s agent, Donne Commins, told Reuters on Thursday. ”He is looking forward to dealing with the issues that have been plaguing him.”
Gibbs announced his decision after appearing in court on Wednesday on charges of drunken-driving. The case was postponed until March.
The 34-year-old was sent home from the national squad in shame last month for breaking a team curfew the day before South Africa were to play Bangladesh in a Twenty20 international.
A press release from Cricket South Africa said he would only be selected in future if he agreed to undergo rehabilitation for alcohol abuse.
Gibbs has a history of poor discipline, having been banned for six months in 2001 for accepting money to under-perform in the Hansie Cronje match-fixing saga.
His rehab means Gibbs, who has played in 90 Tests and 234 one-day internationals, will not be eligible for South Africa or his Cape Cobras team until the second week of January. — Reuters