BCCI suspends allrounder Yusuf Pathan for `inadvertent` doping violation

A back-dated five-month ineligibility period, which ends January 14, has been imposed on Yusuf as the board is satisfied with the explanation given by the cricketer for ingestion of prohibited drug terbutaline in a cough syrup.

New Delhi: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday suspended Baroda allrounder Yusuf Pathan; however, accepting the cricketer's explanation for the offence, the board decided to back-date the five-month suspension, which will now end January 14.

He "inadvertently ingested a prohibited substance, which can be commonly found in cough syrups," the BCCI acting honorary secretary Amitabh Choudhary said in a statement. 

Pathan had provided a urine sample as part of the BCCI’s anti-doping testing programme during a domestic T20 competition on March 16 in New Delhi. 

"His sample was subsequently tested and found to contain terbutaline, which is a specified substance prohibited both in and out of competition in the WADA Prohibited List of Substances," Choudhary further added.

"On 27th October 2017, Mr 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 statement further read.

However, the board, while satisfied with Pathan's version of defence, decided to impose a five-month 'ineligibility' period for the offence, along with 'disqualification of certain results'. 

"The BCCI is satisfied with Mr Pathan’s explanation that he had taken terbutaline inadvertently to treat an upper respiratory tract infection and not as a performance-enhancing drug. Having considered all of the evidence and taken expert external advice, the BCCI has accepted Mr Pathan’s explanation of the cause of his ADRV, and on that basis has agreed that a period of ineligibility of five months should apply, together with the disqualification of certain results.

"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," the BCCI's official statement added.