Pakistan's Shehzad formally charged over positive dope test
Ahmed Shehzad's in-competition urine sample, which was collected during the Pakistan Cup tournament in May, tested positive.
Pakistan batsman Ahmed Shehzad has been provisionally suspended and charged with violating anti-doping regulations after he tested positive for a banned substance, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Tuesday.
Last month, the PCB announced that a player had failed a doping test collected during the Pakistan Cup tournament in May, but refused to reveal the name of the cricketer. Shehzad’s name has only just been released.
"Under the Pakistan Cricket Board's Anti-Doping Rules ("the Anti-Doping Rules") PCB conducted in-competition dope testing through an independent collecting agency during the Pakistan Cup 2018 held in Faisalabad. Amongst others, the urine sample of Ahmad Shehzad cricketer was collected on 3rd May 2018," the PCB said in a statement.
"The sample was forwarded to a WADA-accredited laboratory for analysis which, through its Analytical Report, gave an Adverse Analytical Finding for the presence of a Prohibited Substance. PCB received the Analytical Report on 11th June 2018."
The 26-year-old has been given time until 18 July to advise whether he wishes to have his B sample tested, and until 27 July to respond to the charges levelled against him.
Pending the outcome of the charges, he remains suspended.
According to the PCB's Anti-Doping Regulations, the charges against the batsman could lead to him being banned for a minimum of two years.
Shehzad struggling for a place in Pakistan team
Since making his Test debut in 2013, the batsman has scored 983 runs in 13 matches for Pakistan.
Recently, Shehzad has struggled to secure a place in the Pakistan squad, but he played in the two-match Twenty20 series at Scotland in June, scoring a combined 38 runs.
He was dropped from the Pakistan Twenty20 team which won the tri-series in Zimbabwe last weekend.