Yasir Shah banned for three months by ICC

Yasir Shah, the Pakistan leg-spinner, has been banned for three months from ‘cricket-related activities’ by the International Cricket Council (ICC), for the intake of a banned drug chlortalidone. The ban, beginning December 27 last year, when he tested positive in an in-competition doping test, expires on March 27, 2016.

Yasir Shah will be eligible to participate in Pakistan's next Test, in England in July.

Yasir Shah, the Pakistan leg-spinner, has been banned for three months from ‘cricket-related activities’ by the International Cricket Council (ICC), for the intake of a banned drug chlortalidone . The short period of the ban, which was decided upon by the ICC after the understanding that Yasir’s intake was accidental, relieves the Pakistan team management of having to miss his services in their international endeavours in the coming months. The ban, beginning December 27 last year, when he tested positive in an in-competition doping test, expires on March 27, 2016.

Yasir was supported by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in explaining the circumstances in which the doping violation occurred. Yasir inadvertently consumed his wife’s blood pressure medicine, which contains the banned substance, instead of his own, as both medicines were ‘identical in appearance’.

Glad to hear good news about Yasir Shah, well done Team PCB >#Yasirshah>#PCB .

— waqar younis (@waqyounis99) >February 7, 2016

“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,” ICC General Manager, cricket, Geoff Allardice, said.

Yasir has been critical in his team’s success in Tests, and this ban is not set to prove too costly to Pakistan since its next Test, in England, will begin only in July.

The spinner said, “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.”