List of some famous cricketers banned for doping

Shane Warne, Shoaib Akhtar, Ian Botham had all served bans for doping violations.

New Delhi: Sri Lankan wicketkeeper Kusal Perera was on Friday handed over a four-year ban after he failed a doping Test earlier this month.

While it is a big shock for the Sri Lankan cricket fraternity, here is a list of some famous cricketers who were banned for doping:

Upul Tharanga: Perera is not the first Lankan cricketer to be banned for doping as the left-hander Tharanga had been banned for three months in 2011 for a doping violation.

Mohammad Asif & Shoaib Akhtar: The duo, who made life miserable for the best of batsmen, was banned from all forms of cricket in November 2006 after failing a drugs test. Akhtar, then 31, was banned for two years while Asif, then 23, was slapped with a one-year ban. They tested positive for a banned substance named nandrolone. The tests were carried out three weeks before the ICC Champions Trophy that was to be held in India that year.

Raza Hasan, Asim Butt, Abdur Rehman are other Pakistani cricketers who have been found guilty of doping violation.

Ian Botham: Legendary English all-rounder was also suspended for smoking cannabis in 1986. The cricketer-turned-commentator admitted to the same during a newspaper interview, which led to him being suspended for two months.

Shane Warne: The maverick Australia leggie was sent home a day before the 2003 World Cup kicked off in South Africa. The legend was banned for a year from the game after a drug test on him during an ODI series in Australia showed a positive result for a banned diuretic.

Stephen Fleming: Considered to be one of the nicest guys in world cricket, the former Kiwi skipper too is in the list. The left-hander was found guilty for using Marijuana in 1993-94 along with few other Kiwi cricketers. Danny Morrison reported the incident to team management and Fleming was fined just 175 $ and was banned for a brief period.

Pradeep Sangwan: In 2013, the BCCI banned Delhi and Kolkata Knight Riders pacer for failing a dope test during the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League.