Yusuf Pathan suspended for 5 months for doping

Indian all-rounder Yusuf Pathan has been suspended for five months for doping, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced on Tuesday adding that this period will end on January 14.

The BCCI said Pathan had been serving the backdated five-month suspension from August 15.

Pathan failed a dope test conducted during a domestic T-20 tournament on March 16, 2017 and had since been provisionally suspended. After he admitted to the charge, he was handed a five-month suspension, a BCCI statement here said.

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

"His urine sample was tested and found to contain Terbutaline, which is prohibited both in and out of competition in the WADA Prohibited List of Substances," it added.

On October 27, 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.

Pathan responded that a medication containing Terbutaline was mistakenly given to him, instead of the medication prescribed for him, which did not contain any prohibited substance.

"The BCCI is satisfied with Pathan's explanation that he had taken Terbutaline inadvertently to treat an Upper Respiratory Tract Infection (URTI) and not as a performance-enhancing drug," the statement said.

"Having considered all of the evidence and taken expert external advice, the BCCI has accepted Pathan's explanation ... and has agreed that a period of ineligibility of five months should apply, together with the disqualification of certain results," it added.

Yusuf promised that he will be careful in future to avoid such problems.

"I wish to thank the @BCCI for allowing me to plead my case in a fair and reasonable manner. I have always competed in a fair and transparent manner. Competing for India and Baroda has been a matter of immense pride and encouragement for me. I would never act in any manner to bring my motherland and Baroda in any kind of disrepute," he said in a statement.

--IANS

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