Pakistan legspinner Yasir Shah has been provisionally suspended from cricket after testing positive for a banned substance under the ICC’s Anti-Doping Code. A sample collected on November 13th, during the second ODI between Pakistan and England in Abu Dhabi, was found to contain chlortalidone, a diuretic which features on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s prohibited list.
‘In accordance with the ICC Anti-Doping Code, pending the outcome of the disciplinary process, Yasir has been provisionally suspended’, said an ICC statement.
Yasir Shah Provisionally Suspended After Failed Drugs Test
‘The matter will now be dealt with in accordance with the process set down in the Code, and until such time as the process is resolved the ICC will make no further comment on this matter’.
Within the next fourteen days Yasir can request for his B sample to be tested, and, if negative, the suspension will be lifted with immediate effect. Yasir can also request a hearing before an anti-doping tribunal. Early reports from Pakistan, as yet unconfirmed, suggest that Yasir had taken chlortalidone to treat high blood pressure but had not informed team officials.
Diuretics are commonly used in the medical treatment of hypertension but are banned in sporting competition because of their potential to act as masking agents. Sometimes referred to as ‘water pills’, diuretics reduce the amount of water in the body and can conceal the presence or concentration of other substances within a sample. In 2003 diuretic use claimed another high-profile casualty when Shane Warne was banned after testing positive for the drugs hydrochlorothiazide and amiloride on the eve of the World Cup in South Africa.
Pakistan’s next international assignment is a one-day series against New Zealand in January before the inaugural Pakistan Super League begins in the UAE on 4th February, where Yasir is scheduled to play for the Lahore Qalandars.
The news brings to a sour end an extraordinary year for Yasir in which he has risen to number four in the Test bowling rankings after his key role in Pakistan’s series victories over Sri Lanka and England. In his twelve Test career he has taken 76 wickets at an average of 24.17, with a best of 7-76 against Sri Lanka in Galle, and Pakistan will hope that such a positive year, one that has seen them against all odds rise to second in the world Test rankings, is not destined to end with them losing their most potent bowling weapon.
