BCCI releases official press statement in Yusuf Pathan suspension case

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has released an official media statement in the Yusuf Pathan suspension case. The veteran Indian all-rounder was suspended for five months following his alleged violation of the anti-doping policies of the board. Reportedly, the samples of Yusuf Pathan were found to have contained terbutaline.

Subsequently, the BCCI notified Yusuf about his suspension. The Baroda all-rounder pleaded innocent and recently released an official statement on the entire episode. Yusuf mentioned that he had consumed the substance since he was under medication for a throat infection. He had not taken the substance intentionally.

In the BCCI media release, the board secretary noted the same and confirmed that the banned substance is usually found in cough syrups. The statement also affirmed that Yusuf was charged with the violation of the anti-doping rules in October last year.

Soon after the senior cricketer received the notice from the board, he reverted back with his explanation on the entire scene. Yusuf stressed on the fact that he had been mistakenly given the cough syrup which contained the substance that he should not have consumed.

“He “inadvertently ingested a prohibited substance, which can be commonly found in cough syrups. His sample was subsequently tested and found to contain terbutaline, which is a specified substance prohibited both in and out of competition in the WADA Prohibited List of Substances,” the BCCI acting honorary secretary Amitabh Choudhary said in a statement.

“On 27th October 2017, Mr 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,” the statement added further.

BCCI satisfied with the explanation

Adding further to their statement, the board remarked that they are content with the explanation that Yusuf has given. The board revealed that they took all the explanations and evidences into consideration before arriving at the latest conclusions. Chaudhary revealed that the suspension period has been running from August and would end at midnight on 14 January 2018.

“The BCCI is satisfied with Mr Pathan’s explanation that he had taken terbutaline inadvertently to treat an upper 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 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,” Chaudhary noted in the statement.

“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 BCCI’s official statement concluded.

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