Published: Feb 07, 2016, 04:37 PM (IST)
Edited: Feb 07, 2016, 04:37 PM (IST)
Pakistan leg-spinner Yasir Shah has been banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for three months. Yasir had tested positive for a banned substance in December 2015. The three-month ban means that Yasir cannot participate in the Pakistan Super Leage (PSL), ICC World T20 2016 and the Asia Cup. He can however be selected for Pakistan’s tour of England in June 2016. Yasir was initially warned after it was found that he had consumed chlortalidone, which is on WADA’s prohibited list. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Shahryar Khan said that he had taken his wife’s mediation by mistake. “We are confident that he didn’t do it intentionally. He is a very naive guy and took that medicine out of ignorance,” said PCB chairman Shahryar Khan. READ: Yasir Shah provisionally suspended by ICC for breaching Anti-Doping code
“Yasir’s family has high blood pressure problem and his uncles have suffered strokes and heart attacks due to it. He gets similar fears so whenever he suffers from high blood pressure he takes some tablets. Yasir’s wife coincidentally is also a blood pressure patient and he mistakenly used her tablet without knowing that it contained a banned substance,” he added.
“The initial details we received regarding the medicine he had taken were incomplete. Now we have received the full details and our doctors have decided against asking for a sample B test. We are instead preparing to file an appeal on behalf of Yasir and expecting a lenient punishment as he used the medicine without any wrong intention,” Shahryar said, according to cricket.com.au
According to an ICC media release,”Mr Shah admitted the violation and a three-month suspension has been imposed, backdated to 27 December 2015, the day when he was provisionally suspended. Mr Shah will, therefore, be eligible to return to cricket on 27 March 2016.
While making the decision, the ICC accepted that Mr Shah had inadvertently ingested the ‘Specified Substance’ for therapeutic reasons, specifically to treat his blood pressure. He was able to satisfy the ICC through evidence and submissions prepared on his behalf by the Pakistan Cricket Board that he had no intention to enhance his sporting performance or to mask the use of another performance enhancing substance and had, instead, mistakenly taken his wife’s blood pressure medication that was identical in appearance to his own but which contained the prohibited substance chlortalidone. READ: Shane Warne trains with Yasir Shah ahead of 3rd Test between Pakistan and England
However, Mr Shah has accepted that he had failed to satisfy the high levels of personal responsibility incumbent upon him as an international cricketer subject to anti-doping rules.
“Today’s announcement reinforces ICC’s zero-tolerance approach to doping, and reminds all international cricketers that they remain personally responsible for ensuring that anything they eat, drink or put into their bodies does not result in an anti-doping rule violation,” said ICC General Manager – Cricket, Geoff Allardice.
Accepting the sanction, Mr Shah reiterated that he had taken the banned substance by mistake and urged all professional cricketers to learn from his experience.
“I assure all fans and followers of the Pakistan cricket team that I have never taken a performance enhancing substance nor have I ever had the intent of masking any such substance. I have always been careful to check my medication with doctors and medical support staff to ensure it does not contain any substance on the prohibited list.”
“However, I acknowledge that I should have taken extra precautions to ensure that my blood pressure medication was stored separately from my wife’s medication so that there was no possibility of my wife’s medication being mistaken for my own. Therefore, I accept the consequences imposed upon me.” READ: Yasir Shah: England batsmen are weak
“My experience should act as a timely reminder to all cricketers that they are solely responsible for what goes into their bodies. All professional cricketers need to exercise a high degree of caution and ensure that under any circumstance they do not take anything (including medication) that could lead to a violation.”
