Shehzad gets 4-month ban over failed doping test

LAHORE, Pakistan, Oct 6, (AFP): Pakistani batsman Ahmed Shehzad has been banned for four months over a failed drug test, authorities said Friday, after he pleaded guilty to violating anti-doping rules.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) punished the 26-year-old after he tested positive for a “prohibited substance” during the domestic Pakistan Cup earlier this year.

Shehzad “has been banned for four months effective from 10th July 2018... for violating the board’s anti-doping rules”, the PCB said in a statement.

He “accepts that he has committed the violations of the PCB rules, but had no intent to cheat or enhance his performance”, it added.

Authorities did not identify the substance over which Shehzad was banned.

“I inadvertently consumed a medicine which as an experienced cricketer I should have refrained from,” Shehzad said on Twitter after the decision was announced.

“This is a lesson for me... and I hope to make a strong comeback from here.”

The right-handed opener, who was suspended in July over the failed test, will also deliver anti-doping lectures “as a part of his rehabilitation process”, the PCB said.

The Lahore-born Shehzad played 13 Tests, 81 one-day internationals and 57 Twenty20s for Pakistan, but has failed to impress selectors recently.

His last appearance for Pakistan was in a T20 against Scotland in June.