BCCI suspend Yusaf Pathan for doping

Cricket | Tuesday | 9th January, 2018

All-rounder Yusuf Pathan has been suspended by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for a doping violation, the Indian cricket board said in a statement.

"Mr Yusuf Pathan has been suspended for a doping violation. Mr Pathan had inadvertently ingested a prohibited substance, which can be commonly found in cough syrups," BCCI said in a press release.

"Mr Pathan had provided a urine sample as part of the BCCI's anti-doping testing program during a domestic T-20 competition on 16th March 2017 in New Delhi. His sample was subsequently tested and found to contain Terbutaline. Terbutaline, a specified substance, is prohibited both In & Out of Competition in the WADA Prohibited List of Substances."

"On 27th October 2017, Mr Pathan was charged with the commission of an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) under the BCCI Anti-Doping Rules (ADR) Article 2.1 and provisionally suspended pending determination of the charge. Mr Pathan responded to the charge by admitting the ADRV and asserting that it was caused by his ingestion of a medication containing Terbutaline that had been mistakenly given to him instead of the medication prescribed for him, which did not contain any prohibited substance," the statement added.

However, Yusuf's suspension has been backdated and he will be eligible to play from January 14 onwards.

Meanwhile, Yusuf has said he was confident of being cleared of deliberate usage and vowed to be more careful in future.

"Competing for India and my home state Baroda has been a matter of immense pride and encouragement for me and I would never act in any manner to bring my motherland or Baroda, in any kind of disrepute," Pathan said in a statement.

"In hindsight, I should have been more careful and checked the status of the medications with BCCI's dedicated Anti-Doping Helpline," he added.

After Delhi pacer Pradeep Sangwan, Pathan is the second Indian cricketer to have failed a dope test. Sangwan was suspended for 18 months in 2013 after a test returned positive.