New Delhi: Indian all-rounder Yusuf Pathan, has been suspended for five months by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for a doping violation.
In a release by the Indian board on Tuesday, it was revealed that the Baroda all-rounder had, “inadvertently ingested a prohibited substance, which can be commonly found in cough syrups.” The BCCI also had asked the Baroda Cricket Association to not select Pathan for the recently concluded Ranji Trophy.
The suspension has been back dated from August 15, 2017 which means that it would come to an end on January 14, 2018.
“Pathan had provided a urine sample as part of the BCCI’s anti-doping testing program during a domestic T20 competition on 16 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,” the release read.
“On 27 October 2017, 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 35-year-old in his defence had explained that the banned substance, ‘terbuteline’ was detected because medicine he was taking to cure his throat infection.
Yusuf Pathan’s statement (Image credit-Facebook)
The board was subsequently “satisfied” with Pathan’s explanation that he had consumed, ‘terbuteline’ “inadvertently” as a part of the the treatment for a Upper Respiratory Tract Infection (URTI). They subsequently handed him a five-month ban.
The release further added, “Under BCCI ADR Article 10.10.3, Pathan is entitled to the full credit against that period of ineligibility for the provisional suspension that he has been serving since 28 October 2017. In addition, there is discretion under BCCI ADR Article 10.10.2 to back-date the start date of the period of ineligibility still further on account of Mr Pathan’s prompt admission of his ADRV upon being confronted with it by the BCCI, and under BCCI ADR Article 10.10.1 on account of the delays in the results management in this case that are not attributable to Mr Pathan. In all of the circumstances, the five-month period of ineligibility will be deemed to have started to run on 15 August 2017 and end at midnight on 14 January 2018.”
Pathan has been a part of India’s T20I World Cup winning campaign in 2007 and World Cup winning team in 2011. A veteran of 57 ODIs and 22 T20Is for India the hard-hitting all-rounder last played for the national team in 2012.