Prithvi Shaw, a promising India opening batsman, has been suspended till November 15 for inadvertently violating the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI’s) anti-doping norms by consuming an over-the-counter cough syrup in February earlier this year.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the BCCI confirmed that Shaw has been suspended for eight months after being found to have ingested terbutaline, a substance prohibited under the BCCI anti-doping regulations (ADR), during Mumbai’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy campaign in Indore in February.
The BCCI also sanctioned Akshay Dullarwar, Vidarbha’s Under-23 cricketer, and Rajasthan Under-19 cricketer Divya Gajraj for inadvertent violations of its anti-doping policy.
Backdated
“The eight-month period of Ineligibility will be deemed to have started to run on 16th March 2019, so that it will end at midnight on 15th November 2019,” the statement read. “… Mr. Shaw may return to train with his State team and/or to use the facilities of any club or other member organisation of the BCCI after midnight on 15th September 2019.”
shaw
According to the detailed decision document signed by Dr. Abhijit Salvi, BCCI’s anti-doping manager, Shaw’s urine sample collected after Mumbai’s game against Punjab at Indore on February 22 returned positive.
“The BCCI is satisfied with Mr. Shaw’s explanation that he had taken Terbutaline inadvertently to treat an 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. Shaw’s explanation of the cause of his ADRV and, on that basis, has agreed that a period of ineligibility of eight months should apply, together with disqualification of certain results,” read the statement.
According to the detailed document, Shaw, suffering from cough, consulted his father over phone who advised him to seek a pharmacist’s advice for a cough syrup. Shaw then bought a cough syrup over the counter and didn’t check for its anti-doping compliance. As a result, the BCCI was lenient on Shaw for unknowingly ingesting a banned substance.
Latest setback
The doping episode is the latest setback in a series of blows for Shaw, who has been on a downhill ever since marking his Test debut as a teenager with a scintillating hundred against the West Indies in Rajkot in October 2018. Then, Shaw suffered an ankle injury during a tour game ahead of India’s Test series in Australia in November.
Shaw was sent back home midway through the series, fuelling speculation over his over-the-top lifestyle having affected his recovery. After returning to the field during the Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Indian Premier League, Shaw last featured in a competitive match during the Mumbai T20 League in May.
The episode also exposes the lack of anti-doping training to Indian cricketers. A First Class regular for Mumbai, India Under-19 captain and a Test entrant last year, Shaw consulting an unknown pharmacist during a tournament is surprising. That too, when he was with the Mumbai team, when he should have first consulted the team doctor and the manager.
