The International Cricket Council is extremely strict with doping policies and anybody who falls guilty under this clause is punished severely by the global body. In recent developments, in this case, Bangladesh pacer Shohidul Islam was handed a 10-month-long ban for failing an out-of-competition dope test conducted in March. The Bangladeshi pacer's urine sample returned as positive for Clomifene which has been classified as a Specified Substance under WADA's Prohibited List. This drug has been listed as prohibited both in-competition as well as out-of-competition.
"Bangladesh pacer Shohidul Islam has been suspended for 10 months after pleading guilty to breaching Article 2.1 of the ICC Anti-Doping Code. After admitting the offense, Shohidul has been suspended from all forms of cricket for 10 months", said ICC in a statement.
While handing out the suspension, the ICC confirmed that Shohidul had inadvertently ingested the prohibited substance in the form of medicine that he had been legitimately prescribed for therapeutic purposes. Shohidul also testified that he had no intention to use the prohibited substance for performance enhancement. The 10-month suspension has been backdated to May 28, the day he admitted to the offense, meaning the Bangladesh pacer will be eligible to play from March 28, 2023.
The 27-year-old pacer has played a solitary T20I for Bangladesh, where he picked up the wicket of Mohammad Rizwan in the third and final match of the series which Pakistan won 3-0. He has been part of Bangladesh's traveling squads for series against New Zealand and South Africa but did not get any game time. He was also a part of the Bangladesh Test and T20I squad for the ongoing tour of the West Indies but missed out due to a side strain.
(Inputs from PTI)
