Ahmed Shehzad faces music for mistakenly consuming his mother's medicine

Not long ago, Ahmed Shehzad was dubbed as “Pakistan’s Kohli” though more for his looks than the performance on the field. The 26-year-old batsman has now been subjected to a four-month ban after he reported positive in a dope test. His retrospective ban will be seen effective from July 10 and continue till November 10.

It all happened on May 3 when Shehzad was scheduled to play a game for Balochistan. He was feeling unwell and dizzy on that day and sought some medicines from his wife. His wife had then given him his mother’s cancer-treating drugs by mistake instead of Gravinate, the one he took regularly.

The batsman was subsequently banned for using prohibited substance although he had said on Twitter on the day of his announcement of the ban that it was not an intentional one. To defend himself, the cricketer also gave his mother’s prescription slip for Dronabinol and her relevant medical records.

He also took help from the physiotherapist and dope control official who were present at the time of testing to portray his error before the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). He also gathered character certificates from Pakistan’s head coach Mickey Arthur, former captain Misbah-ul-Haq and all-rounder Shoaib Malik to help his case.

According to a report in Cricbuzz, Shehzad expressed his concerns to the PCB after being issued a notice of charge on him on July 10. He later revised his statement and admitted of having violated anti-doping policy while asking the PCB to initiate proceedings on “confidential and without prejudice” basis.

Shehzad given a lenient handling

Shehzad was given a lenient dealing and it was concluded that “he had no intent to cheat or enhance his performance”. He was consequently handed a retrospective ban that expires next month.

The 26-year-old has played 13 Tests, 81 ODIs and 57 T20Is for Pakistan since making his international debut in 2009 and has scored over 5,000 runs with 10 international hundreds. His last appearance for Pakistan was in June when he played in a T20I against Scotland.

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