Yasir Shah: PCB awaiting ICC's report on suspended leg-spinner

Karachi: The Pakistan Cricket Board on Monday said it was still awaiting a full report from International Cricket Council on the doping case of leg spinner Yasir Shah but reiterated its zero tolerance policy on doping.

PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan told the media in Lahore that Yasir's case was being examined from a medical and legal point of view.

"He has appeared before the medical panel of the board to explain his position. Once we get the full report from ICC we will decide our next step," he said.

He said that PCB has a zero tolerance policy towards the use of prohibited substances in cricket and has in place a strict regime which monitors and regularly imparts education relating to the ICC anti-doping code.

A PCB press release also said that pursuant to receipt of the notice of charge issued by ICC to Yasir Shah, PCB will examine the circumstances surrounding the alleged charge and shall fully assist the ICC in arriving at a fair and just outcome.

The ICC yesterday placed a provisional ban on the test leg-spinner for failing a dope test in November. Shah, 29, who has taken 76 wickets in 12 tests told the medical panel that he had by mistake taken a medicine for blood pressure which belonged to his wife in Dubai.

"Yasir said he was with his wife in his hotel room when he took the medicine by mistake as he was supposed to take medicine prescribed to him for a back pain," one source aware

of the developments told PTI.

"He told the panel he had no idea it would lead to such a big complication for him and put his career in danger as well," the source said.

Shaharyar made it clear that every player was given literature about anti-doping policies of the ICC and it included names of all banned substances and medicines.

"Players are told regularly in briefings that they must consult the team doctor or board's medical panel before using any medicine for any ailment even if it is off-season," he said.

Meanwhile, former test fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has said that unless the board educated and groomed players they would face such issues.

"Yasir has not studied from Oxford so how does the board expect him to remember names of every medicine in the ICC list. This is the total responsibility of the team management and PCB medical panel to keep a close watch on players and their health issues," Akhtar said.

He said if Yasir was banned for a long period it would be a big setback for Pakistan cricket as he had emerged as one of their top wicket-takers in the last one year.

In the past also Shoaib himself has tested positive for a banned substance while others like Muhammad Asif, spinner Abdul Rehman, batsman Kashif and spinner Reza Hasan have all

been banned for failing dope tests.

Shah has taken 49 Test wickets this year, including 24 in Pakistan's 2-1 series win in Sri Lanka and 15 in two of the three Tests against England, a series which Pakistan won 2-0.