How an 'over the counter' cough syrup got Prithvi Shaw eight-month doping ban
The Indian cricket was on Tuesday evening rocked by probably one of the biggest doping scandals in recent history, which engulfed one of its rising stars. Talented young Test opener Prithvi Shaw, touted as a modern-day batting prodigy, was handed an eight-month suspension by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for a doping violation committed during the ongoing Indian domestic cricket season.
Shaw, who made his Test debut for India against West Indies in Rajkot last year, tested positive for terbutaline - a banned substance commonly found in cough syrups - during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in February this year.
Apart from Shaw, two other domestic cricketers - Vidarbha's Akshay Dullarwar and Rajasthan's Divya Gajraj - also violated the BCCI's anti-doping code. Dullarwar received a ban for eight months, while Gajraj was banned for six months.
Shaw, who is the youngest Test centurion on debut for India and just the second-youngest Test centurion for India after Sachin Tendulkar, is the second high-profile Indian cricketer after Yusuf Pathan to have been suspended for a doping violation. Yusuf, elder brother of Irfan Pathan, received a back-dated ban of five months from BCCI in January 2018.
Like Shaw, Pathan too had tested positive for a substance commonly found in cough syrups.
The BCCI stated that Shaw had "inadvertently ingested a prohibited substance, which can be commonly found in cough syrups".
"Terbutaline, a specified substance, is prohibited both In and Out of Competition in the WADA Prohibited List of Substances," the BCCI release said.
Shaw's suspension is retrospective in nature, starting from March 16 and ending on November 15 which rules him out of India's home series against South Africa and Bangladesh.
"I accept my fate with all sincerity. While I am still nursing an injury which I suffered during my last tournament, this news has really shaken me," Shaw issued a statement on Twitter.
"Cricket is my life and there is no bigger pride for me than playing for India and Mumbai and I will come out of this faster and stronger," he further stated.
WHAT IS TERBUTALINE?
Terbutaline is generally used to treat problems related to breathing and can be consumed if the athlete in question avails a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) certificate in advance, which Shaw didn't avail.
Terbutaline comes under Beta-2 Agonists of banned substances that finds it mention in the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) list.
Shaw admitted that youngsters need to be more cautious while consuming over the counter medicines.
"I have to take this in my stride and hope it inspires others in our sports fraternity that we as athletes need to be extremely careful in taking any medicine for the smallest of medical ailments even if the medicine is available over the counter and we need to always follow the protocol," he said.
The 19-year-old, who has played two Test matches for India scoring 237 runs with a hundred and a half-century, had earlier pulled out of India A's one day and Test series against West Indies A reportedly due to a hip injury.
Shaw, the junior World Cup-winning skipper, had made a mark last year but was sent back from the tour of Australia after twisting his ankle during a practice game.
Shaw is currently at the National Cricket Academy undergoing rehabilitation for a reported hip injury, but the BCCI statement is an indicator that he had already failed the dope test when he was playing the tournament.
(With agency inputs)
