Pathan's case is still active, says Wada

Mumbai: Cricketer Yusuf Pathan might soon be completing BCCI’s retroactive five-month ban imposed on him for a first-time dope offense but as per the World Anti-Doping Agency’s protocol, the case is an active one.

Baroda all-rounder Pathan was on Tuesday handed a five-month retrospective suspension for failing a dope test, a sanction which will end on January 14 after the BCCI accepted his plea that the violation was inadvertent.

“As this is a pending case, we are not in a position to comment,” informed Maggie Durand, Wada’s Manager, Media Relations and Communications in response to an email query whether the period of the ban imposed on him was Wada-compliant.

As per Wada’s Doping Code of 2015, a first-time offense automatically invokes a four-year suspension.

The BCCI had said in a statement, “Mr Yusuf Pathan has been suspended for a doping violation. Mr Pathan had inadvertently ingested a prohibited substance, which can be commonly found in cough syrups.”

The 35-year-old Pathan, a member of the victorious Indian 2011 World Cup squad, had provided a urine sample as part of the BCCI’s anti-doping testing programme during a domestic T20 competition on March 16 last year.

“His sample was subsequently tested and found to contain Terbutaline. Terbutaline, a specified substance, is prohibited both In and Out of Competition in the Wada Prohibited List of Substances,” the BCCI stated.

The all-rounder, who has played 57 ODIs and 22 T20 Internationals for India, was charged with the “commission of an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) under the BCCI Anti-Doping Rules Article 2.1 and provisionally suspended pending determination of the charge”.

“Mr. Pathan responded to the charge by admitting the ADRV and asserting that it was caused by his ingestion of a medication containing Terbutaline that had been mistakenly given to him instead of the medication prescribed for him, which did not contain any prohibited substance,” the BCCI explained.

The BCCI said it is “satisfied” with Pathan’s explanation that he was using the medication to “treat an Upper Respiratory Tract Infection and not as a performance-enhancing drug”.