South Africa's Zubayr Hamza charged under ICC Anti-Doping Code after testing positive for prohibited substance

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has charged South African batter Zubayr Hamza with an anti-doping rule violation under the ICC Anti-Doping Code. Hamza has been charged with the presence and/or use of a prohibited substance following the detection of Furosemide in a sample collected out-of-competition on 17 January 2022 and has accepted a provisional suspension pending the outcome of the disciplinary process.

Hamza had tested positive for a banned substance under the International Cricket Council (ICC) anti-doping Test, which was conducted on 17 March, 2022. Furosemide is a Specified Substance contained in Section S5 of the 2022 WADA Prohibited List. The substance is not a performance-enhancing one but a diuretic, prescribed to treat hypertension and reduce swelling caused by fluid build-up in the body. As these proceedings are ongoing, the ICC will make no further comment at this stage.

Earlier, the CSA, in an official statement, had said that Hamza agreed to cooperate with ICC.

“Cricket South Africa (CSA), the South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA) and Western Province Cricket Association (WPCA) today announced that Proteas player, Zubayr Hamza has tested positive for a prohibited substance under the International Cricket Council (ICC) anti-doping code. The positive test followed an ICC anti-doping test on the 17 January 2022,” the CSA said in a statement.

“Zubayr is not disputing the positive test, is co-operating fully with the ICC, and has agreed to a voluntary suspension commencing immediately whilst written submissions are presented to the ICC,” it added.

“The positive test relates to the substance Furosemide, which is not a performance enhancing substance, and Zubayr has been able to identify how the substance entered his system. The process to follow will entail presenting evidence that there was no fault or negligence, or no significant fault or negligence on the part of Zubayr,” the statement further said.

Hamza, who made his Test debut against Pakistan in 2019, has managed to play six Tests for his country, with only a solitary half-century in 12 innings. He made his One Day International debut against Netherlands in 2021 and scored a half-century.