Indian all-rounder Yusuf Pathan has been suspended after failing the dope test during a domestic tournament last year. The 35-year-old player is banned from the game for five months by the Board of Control for India in Cricket (BCCI). The period of the suspension means Yusuf Pathan would be unavailable for the upcoming auction of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018. However, as per the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules, the suspension came into effect from August 15, 2017, and it will end on January 14, 2018. So, Yusuf in all likelihood will play IPL 11 as BCCI cannot overturn WADA’s ruling. The Baroda player is currently a part of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

BCCI released a report informing Yusuf Pathan’s doping violation that was conducted as a part of the cricket body’s anti-doping testing programme during a domestic Twenty20 competition on March 16, 2017, in New Delhi. In a statement, BCCI revealed about the cricketer failed the drug test as he had "inadvertently ingested a prohibited substance, which can be commonly found in cough syrups." After finding the Pathan’s results to be positive, Board instructed Baroda Cricket Association to not select Yusuf for the recently concluded Ranji Trophy tournament. The cricketer has not played any form of cricket since October 2017.

"Pathan had provided a urine sample as part of the BCCI's anti-doping testing program during a domestic T20 competition on 16 March 2017 in New Delhi. His sample was subsequently tested and found to contain Terbutaline. Terbutaline, a specified substance, is prohibited both In & Out of Competition in the WADA Prohibited List of Substances," said BCCI in the statement.

"On 27 October 2017, Pathan was charged with the commission of an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) under the BCCI Anti-Doping Rules (ADR) Article 2.1 and provisionally suspended pending determination of the charge. Mr Pathan responded to the charge by admitting the ADRV and asserting that it was caused by his ingestion of a medication containing Terbutaline that had been mistakenly given to him instead of the medication prescribed for him, which did not contain any prohibited substance."

In a complete statement, BCCI expressed to be satisfied with Yusuf Pathan’s explanation. They write, “The BCCI is satisfied with Mr Pathan’s explanation that he had taken Terbutaline inadvertently to treat an Upper Respiratory Tract Infection (URTI) and not as a performance-enhancing drug. Having considered all of the evidence and taken expert external advice, the BCCI has accepted Mr Pathan’s explanation of the cause of his ADRV, and on that basis has agreed that a period of ineligibility of five months should apply, together with the disqualification of certain results,” said the BCCI statement.

“Under BCCI ADR Article 10.10.3, Mr Pathan is entitled to the full credit against that period of ineligibility for the provisional suspension that he has been serving since 28 October 2017. In addition, there is discretion under BCCI ADR Article 10.10.2 to back-date the start date of the period of ineligibility still further on account of Mr Pathan’s prompt admission of his ADRV upon being confronted with it by the BCCI, and under BCCI ADR Article 10.10.1 on account of the delays in the results management in this case that are not attributable to Mr Pathan. In all of the circumstances, the five-month period of ineligibility will be deemed to have started to run on 15 August 2017 and end at midnight on 14 January 2018.”

The Baroda cricketer also released a statement thanking BCCI for giving him a fair chance to explain his situation. Yusuf Pathan also vowed to be extra careful in the future. “Competing for India and my home state Baroda has been a matter of immense pride and encouragement for me and I would never act in any manner to bring my motherland or Baroda, in any kind of disrepute,” Pathan said. “In hindsight, I should have been more careful and checked the status of the medications with BCCI’s dedicated anti-doping helpline,” the hard-hitting cricketer summed up.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 09, 2018 11:12 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).