Yusuf Pathan's 5-month suspension to end in 5 days

Indian all-rounder Yusuf Pathan has been suspended for five months for doping, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced on Tuesday.

Pathan had received a five-month ban due to a doping violation but will be free to play from Monday after the ban was backdated to August, the country's cricket board said.

The Baroda all-rounder had inadvertently ingested a prohibited substance — Terbutaline, which can be commonly found in cough syrups.

"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 BCCI said in a statement.

"Mr Pathan responded to the charge by admitting the Anti-Doping Rule Violation 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 board said in the statement," Indian cricket's governing body said in the statement.

"The BCCI is satisfied with Mr 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 Mr 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.", the board said in the statement.

In his response, Pathan released a statement saying that he was confident of being cleared of deliberate usage and vowed to be more careful in future.

“Competing for India and my home state Baroda has been a matter of immense pride and encouragement for me and I would never act in any manner to bring my motherland or Baroda, in any kind of disrepute,” Pathan said in press release statement.