Yusuf Pathan suspended by BCCI after failing dope test

What's the story?

Team India's discarded all-rounder Yusuf Pathan has been suspended by the BCCI for five months after reportedly failing a dope test last season. According to a report in The Indian Express, Pathan took a medicine after feeling unwell but forgot to apply for Therapeutic Use Exemption.

The suspension, however, will be backdated to August 14, 2017, and will effectively end on January 14 this year.

“There was a substance which was in the medicine which falls on the banned list. He took that particular medicine on the advice of the team doctor. He was not aware that the medicine he took had something which was banned,” a source close to Pathan revealed.

In case you didn't know...

The 35-year-old Baroda-born hard-hitting batsman last played for India in 2012 and has been sidelined with the emergence of other all-round options in the form of Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel. He played a total of 79 games for India and was part of the victorious 2011 World Cup and 2007 World T20 sides.

The heart of the matter

Pathan reportedly took Brozeet, a medicine that contains Terbutaline, a banned substance that is taken when people are suffering from breathing issues. However, neither Pathan nor his doctor took permission before using the medicine.

He was last seen in action during the Ranji Trophy in October before the BCCI instructed the state board to not pick him for further tournaments owing to the failed dope test.

Pathan admitted to using the substance as part of his medication to treat an Upper Respiratory Tract Infection.

"The BCCI is satisfied with Pathan's explanation that he had taken Terbutaline inadvertently to treat an Upper Respiratory Tract Infection (URTI) and not as a performance-enhancing drug. Having considered all of the evidence and taken expert external advice, the BCCI has accepted Pathan's explanation of the cause of his ADRV, and on that basis has agreed that a period of ineligibility of five months should apply, together with the disqualification of certain results," a statement by the BCCI said.

Pathan took to Twitter to thank the Indian board for giving his case a patient hearing.

Yusuf's statement:I wish to thank the @BCCI for allowing me to plead my case in a fair and reasonable manner. pic.twitter.com/S83TNUpqxZ

— Yusuf Pathan (@iamyusufpathan) January 9, 2018

Parallels from history

Pathan is not the only Indian cricketer to have failed the dope test: Pradeep Sangwan, the current T20 captain of Delhi and a former U-19 World Cup winner, failed a random dope test during the 2013 IPL.

Author's take

It is disheartening to see the fall of Yusuf Pathan: an integral part of India's limited-overs plans till the 2011 World Cup, Pathan faded away after inconsistency, injuries and other all-rounders sidelined him from the Indian side. The current dope test controversy is a further blow to the 35-year-old, who hardly seems to have any chances of returning to the Indian team.

However, given that the ban ends soon, Pathan can hopefully get back into his groove soon and make a strong case for himself before the IPL auctions take place later this month.