10 cricketers who have been banned for drug use

Although the definition of doping is very elaborate in the books of World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the general understanding is that the usage of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs with the intent of achieving glory amount to doping.WADA not only maintains a prohibition list forbidding the players and athletes from using banned drugs but also conducts random tests on players as part of their comprehensive dope test system.The fact that doping can be one of the worst humiliations for a player in the Gentleman’s game has done little to curb the nuisance. Stripped of their glory once caught, these players go down in history as no more than a disgrace to the sport.Yet cricketers continue to have their share of infamy, indulging in banned substance abuse for performance enhancement, as masking agents or simply for recreational purposes. With Yasir Shah and Kusal Perera being the latest additions to the list, the author recollects some noteworthy names that have rocked the cricketing world in the last three decades with their disregard for discipline.

#1 Shane Warne

Warne was involved in his fair share of controversies

Undoubtedly the biggest (and the least surprising) name in this list, Shane Warne is among those legends without whom cricket would not have had the appeal that it has today. Having served as one of the pillars of the invincible Australian side in the 2000s, Warne’s statistics in all forms of the game speak volumes about his caliber and status in cricket.

Much as he was celebrated for his wicket-taking skills, Australia’s ‘bad boy’ Warne had an uncanny propensity to attract controversies, courtesy his several antics. One such incident occurred on the eve of Australia’s first match at the 2003 World Cup in South Africa when the spinner was sent home after testing positive for a banned diuretic.

Cricket Australia lent a deaf ear to Warne’s pleas of ignorance and explanations about his mother giving him the medicine for weight-reduction. He returned to international cricket in 2004 after a ban of 12 months and continued to be an integral part of the team till his retirement in 2007.

#2 Ian Botham

Botham’s bad boy image was a constant cloud hanging over him

Already a legendary figure in the English dressing room, Ian Botham never hesitated to lead a flamboyant life off the field. The hammer, however, landed after a disappointing West Indies tour in 1986 when Botham was quoted in the Mail on Sunday admitting his cannabis use despite having denied so previously.

Succumbing to pressure from the media and popular opinion, the ECB suspended him for 63 days. The decision proved expensive, for England were crushed by India and New Zealand in Tests in the regular skipper’s absence.

Botham returned to the international arena in style, first equaling and then breaking Dennis Lillee’s world record of most Test wickets – all within a span of 12 balls of his comeback at The Oval.

#3 Shoaib Akhtar

Akhtar missed out on two years of cricket due to his ban

One of the various uses of steroids and performance-enhancing drugs is to recover rapidly from injuries. No wonder, therefore, that a fast bowler being prone to injuries will fall prey to the seductive appeal of such banned substances, in spite of WADA’s efforts.

This precisely had been the case for Pakistan’s Shoaib Akhtar who was tested positive for banned anabolic steroid nandrolone and was pulled out of the squad for the Champions Trophy on October 16, 2006 – the day before Pakistan’s opening match. Akhtar was banned for two years after a decision was reached by a three-man panel formed by the PCB.

According to Shahid Hamid, a member of the panel, “Akhtar contested the case saying that he has been on a high-protein diet which contained beef, chicken meat and other dietary supplements and he also said he took some herbal medicines from a Hakim (herbal expert) but he couldn't prove them.”

#4 Stephen Fleming

Former Kiwi skipper is a surprise inclusion in this list

A revered name among the perpetrators of the game, Stephen Fleming is almost always associated with astute tactical skills and perceptive captaincy. New Zealand’s most successful leader is definitely an astonishing inclusion in this list.

Although not guilty of abusing performance-enhancing drugs or masking agents, Fleming was charged with smoking pot along with a few other Kiwi cricketers for ‘recreational purposes’. This incident which dates back to 1993-94 threatened to derail Fleming’s career after pacer Danny Morrison took his concerns to Ken Rutherford the very next day.

Fleming was fined $175 along with Dion Nash and Matthew Hart but he admitted it had cost him tens of thousands in legal fees and had also lost sponsorship. The trio was banned for three matches which implied they had to miss the one-dayers against West Indies.

#5 Upul Tharanga

Tharanga was the first Sri Lankan cricketer to be banned for drug-related offence

The fact that awareness continues to be a major problem among sportsmen emerging from the less advanced corners of the world was underlined once again in 2011 when Sri Lankan opener Upul Tharanga was found to have metabolites of two banned glucocorticosteroids – prednisone and prednisolone in his system during the 2011 World Cup.

The 26-year-old pleaded guilty, admitting he had taken some herbal remedy in order to ease the pain of a long-standing shoulder injury.

The anti-doping tribunal accepted that Tharanga “had no intention to enhance his sporting performance or to mask the use of another performance enhancing substance, but that he had failed to satisfy the high levels of personal responsibility implicit upon him as an international cricketer subject to anti-doping rules.”

As a consequence of breaching the ICC Anti-Doping Code, he was banned from cricket and all cricket-related activities for a period of three months till August 8, 2011.

#6 Mohammad Asif

Asif’s name has become popular for all the wrong reasons

Once a bright prospect in Pakistan’s fast bowling department, Mohammad Asif’s name ended up being famous for all the wrong reasons – from substance abuse to spot-fixing.

The first time he was suspended was in November 2006 along with Shoaib Akhtar. Then 23, Asif was let off with a milder ban of one year after Pakistan physician Darryn Lifson confirmed that he had stopped him from taking a banned drug a few months before.

The right-arm medium pacer was detained at the Dubai International Aiport in 2008 on suspicion of possessing illegal drugs in his wallet. Soon after his return to Pakistan from Dubai, the IPL committee revealed that he had tested positive for banned substances during the tournament.

#7 Abdur Rehman

Rehman wasn’t the same after he came back from his ban

Once the second-choice spinner for Pakistan, Abdur Rehman terrorized the England team (ranked No.1 in Tests at that time) in 2012, with 19 wickets at an average of 16.73. It was Pakistan’s first ever series whitewash against England in the history of the game.

It was also during that year that he was found guilty of using cannabis as a recreational drug while playing for Somerset in the English domestic circuit. He was consequently banned for 12 weeks by the ECB under its anti-doping rules.

Rehman later apologized publicly for his ‘error of judgment’ and promised to stay fit and focused during the following suspension period.

#8 Raza Hasan

Another promising Pakistani cricketer’s career was spoiled by a ban

Young left-arm spinner Raza Hasan had been tipped as a future prospect for Pakistan when he debuted in September 2012 and justified that faith by scalping 3 wickets in 4 matches at the World T20 that year at an economy of 4.93. He received his ODI cap against New Zealand in December 2014.

During the Pentangular one-day Cup in Karachi last year, the PCB conducted several dope tests on players. The sample collected from Hasan turned out to be positive for a banned substance and he was suspended from all forms of cricket for a span of two years, according to the anti-doping rules.

In a relatively recent development, Hasan filed an appeal against the ban in June, denying indulgence in any sort of illegal activities.

#9 Asim Butt

Butt had few reasons to cheer in his brief cricket career

In the notoriously long list of Pakistani cricketers banned for drug abuse, Asim Butt’s name remains unique for a number of reasons. The Lahore-born cricketer had moved to Scotland after failure to build a career in his country and represented Scotland in 5 ODIs, all in the 1999 World Cup.

A repeated offender, as admitted by his wife, Butt was banned from all forms of cricket for a year in 2005 after testing positive for the recreational drug, Ecstasy during a match against Somerset. He appeared before an England & Wales Cricket Board disciplinary panel and was handed over the verdict that made him miss the ICC Trophy in Ireland next month.

#10 Pradeep Sangwan

Sangwan’s once promising career took a turn for the worse after his ban

Talented left-arm pacer Pradeep Sangwan had created headlines during India’s successful Under-19 World Cup campaign in 2008 after ticking all the right boxes. Returning to the domestic circuit, he represented Delhi for 38 first-class matches and picked up 123 wickets.

It was in October 2013 that Sangwan was found to have violated Article 2.1 of the BCCI Anti-Doping Code for the presence of prohibited anabolic steroid stanozolol and was slapped with an 18-month ban expiring on November 5, 2014.

The Kolkata Knight Riders bowler claimed in front of the anti-doping tribunal that he had consumed the steroid accidentally when his gym instructor had offered it to him as a remedy for fat reduction.