LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday decided against requesting for a ‘B’ sample of Yasir Shah’s dope test and will instead request for a hearing into the case.
Pakistan’s ace leg-spinner was provisionally suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on December 27 after testing positive for chlortalidone, which appears in the World Anti-Doping Agency list of banned substances.
Under the ICC’s anti-doping code, failed drug tests result in a four year ban, unless the offence is deemed unintentional which could lead to reduced suspension.
But the PCB’s decision to opt against a ‘B’ sample effectively means Shah could face a ban of up to two years.
PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan said the board’s medical panel had met on Monday after receiving more details from the ICC on Shah’s case, and had decided not to request a second urine sample.
“We have decided not to go for the ‘B’ sample test, and instead will appeal with the ICC,” he added. According to the ICC’s Anti-Doping Code, a suspended player can request for an unopened and untested B sample in order to “confirm the ICC’s findings in respect of the A Sample”. Both samples are taken from the player at the same time, which in Shah’s case was during the Pakistan-England series in November last year.
A suspended player also has the right to request for a hearing within a 14-day deadline. A failure to do so means the player has “admitted that he/she has committed the anti-doping rule violation(s) specified in the Notice of Charge” and to have accepted the consequences specified in that Notice of Charge.
According to a source in the PCB, Pakistan on Monday had sought more details from the ICC after the submission of the dope test report and notice of charge.
