Mohammad Shahzad suspended by ICC for doping violations

One of the most popular batsmen in the Afghanistan batting line up, Mohammad Shahzad has been proven guilty of the use of prohibited substances by the International Cricket Council and may face a ban up to 4 years.

The ICC has confirmed today that the star wicketkeeper batsman would be provisionally suspended after the latter was formally charged on April 13.

Overall, Mohammad Shahzad has represented his country in as many as 116 matches- which includes 59 one-day internationals and 57 T20Is. The Afghan stalwart has scored as many as 3640 international runs. Many would remember Shahzad from the T20 World Cup of 2016 held in India. Shahzad was part of two of the most iconic moments in Afghanistan cricket.

Mohammad Shahzad was responsible for taking arguably one of the premier bowlers in world cricket – Dale Steyn – to the cleaners at Wankhede, chasing a mammoth score set by the South African team. After defeating the eventual champions of the World Cup, West Indies, Shahzad and his fellow teammates came up with the performance of their own version of the Champion Dance, which was originally a part of West indies’ world cup campaign.

However, the future of the hearty wicketkeeper remains uncertain as he was charged with consumption of a banned substance know as Clenbuterol, which is prohibited under Section 1.2 of the WADA Prohibited List (in the category of other anabolic agents).

If it is proven that Mohammad Shahzad consumed the substance intentionally, he could face a ban of up to 4 years, and if not,  Shahzad would be banned for only 2 years.

An out-of-competition test was conducted on Mohammad Shahzad, at the ICC Academy in Dubai this January. Following an examination at the WADA-accredited laboratory in Salt Lake City, the wicketkeeper was found guilty. As a result, he was provisionally suspended by the ICC. The Afghan had the option of challenging the decision made by ICC but chose not to.