Bengaluru, December 7: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday said Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Shahzad has been suspended from all cricket-related activities for 12 months after pleading guilty to breaching Article 2.1 of the ICC Anti-Doping Code.
Shahzad had provided a urine sample as part of the ICC's out-of-competition testing programme in Dubai, UAE, on January 17, 2017
His sample was subsequently tested and found to contain clenbuterol. Clenbuterol is classified as a non-Specified Substance under WADA's Prohibited List and is prohibited both in-competition and out-of-competition.
Shahzad admitted the violation and a 12-month suspension has been imposed, backdated to 17 January 2017, the date of his sample collection. Shahzad will, therefore, be eligible to return to cricket on January 17, 2018.
In making the decision, the ICC accepted that Shahzad had inadvertently ingested the prohibited substance, as a contaminant of a weight loss product he was taking - Hydroxycut.
However, Shahzad has accepted that he had failed to satisfy the high levels of personal responsibility incumbent upon him as an international cricketer subject to anti-doping rules.