Prithvi Shaw Suspended For Doping Violation

Prithvi Shaw suspended by BCCI

Prithvi Shaw suspended by BCCI:- Indian batsman and former U-19 captain Prithvi Shaw has been suspended by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) from all forms of cricket for doping violation. Shaw has been suspended for an eight-month period, running uptill November 15, 2019. BCCI release mentioned Shaw had “inadvertently ingested a prohibited substance, which can be commonly found in cough syrups.”

The 19-year-old last played in the IPL, turning up for the Delhi Capitals. He has been a part of the Indian test team, where he was a part of the team that toured West Indies in 2018, and featured in two test matches. Shaw was not selected in the squad for the West Indies tour as he was undergoing rehab for a hip-injury, and the suspension would see him miss the home series against South Africa, set to be played in October, and the first home test against Bangladesh, starting 14th November, 2019.

Prithvi Shaw suspended by BCCI

As a part of BCCI’s doping test, Shaw had given a urine sample on February 22, 2019, in the eve of the match against Punjab in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in Indore.

Shaw was tested positive for terbutaline. “Terbutaline, a specified substance, is prohibited both In & Out of Competition in the WADA Prohibited List of Substances,” the BCCI release said. Subsequently, Shaw was charged under the BCCI Anti-Doping Rules (ADR) Article 2.1 on July 16, 2019, with Shaw being asked to submit an explanation. Shaw’s suspension is retrospective in nature, and would run between March 16 and November 15, 2019.

Shaw admitted to Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV), but made it clear that it wasn’t consumed for performance enhancing, and only a part of the medical treatment and that it was only “inadvertent, being caused by his ingestion of the over the counter cough syrup he had taken for his cough.”

The BCCI  responded to the explanation and seemed satisfied with the Shaw’s revert, mentioning he had taken “Terbutaline inadvertently to treat a Respiratory Tract Infection and not as a performance-enhancing drug.” The board considered all of the evidence and took “expert external advice” before accepting Shaw’s explanation and agreed that a “period of ineligibility of eight months should apply, together with disqualification of certain results”.

“Because Mr. Shaw promptly admitted his ADRV upon being confronted with it by the BCCI, there is discretion under BCCI ADR Article 10.10.2 to back-date the start of the period of Ineligibility to the date of sample collection (22nd February 2019). However, the BCCI ADR Article 10.10.2 also requires Mr. Shaw to actually serve one half of the period of ineligibility. Therefore, further to BCCI ADR Article 10.10.2, 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 BCCI statement said.

Under BCCI ADR Article 10.11.2’s provision,  Shaw might train with his state team and/or use facilities of any of the clubs or member organisations  of BCCI, starting 16th September, 2019, which states that: “A Cricketer may return to train with a team or to use the facilities of a club or other member organisation of a Signatory’s member organisation during the shorter of: (i) the last two months of the Cricketer’s period of Ineligibility; or
(ii) the last one-quarter of the period of Ineligibility imposed.”

Alongside Shaw, Vidarbha’s Akshay Dullarwar and Rajasthan’s Divya Gajraj have also been suspended for doping violation, who had also ‘inadvertently ingested a prohibited substance’, treating an infection and an eye injury respectively.

Leave a Reply