Kusal Perera cleared to return to cricket following a failed drug test last December
Sri Lankan keeper Perera cleared
The International Cricket Council has dropped anti-doping charges against Sri Lanka wicketkeeper Kusal Perera after the Qatar-based laboratory that conducted the test withdrew its initial finding.
Perera was sent home from Sri Lanka's tour of New Zealand last year after failing the test, provisionally suspended by the ICC after an out-of-competition urine sample tested positive for the anabolic steroid 19-Norandrostenedione.
His B sample was also found to contain the substance, leaving Perera facing a four-year ban.
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But the ICC said in a statement that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accredited laboratory in Qatar had withdrawn its "adverse analytical finding" after an independent review by the ICC said the results from Perera's samples were "not sustainable".
"For various scientific and technical reasons, it could not be ruled out that the 19-Norandrostenedione was produced naturally in the player's body and/or formed in the samples after the player provided them," the ICC said.
Perera, 25, was sent home ahead of the first Test against New Zealand after the positive test.
ICC chief executive David Richardson said there was no evidence Perera has ever used performance-enhancing substances and said the case raised serious questions.
"While I am confident that this is an isolated incident in respect of tests commissioned by the ICC, we are seeking an urgent explanation from WADA and the laboratory in an attempt to understand what has transpired and what will be done to ensure it does not happen again," Richardson said.
"We will also immediately review our own internal processes to see whether there might be additional steps over and above those required by WADA that the ICC could put in place in order to give international cricketers further comfort.
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"Had it not been for the diligence of Mr Perera’s legal team and the ICC’s own desire to uncover the explanation for the reported findings, the consequences could well have been different, and that should be of concern to all involved in the fight against doping.
"We regret what Mr Perera has had to endure, and would like to commend him for the manner in which he has conducted himself throughout this period.
"We wish to make it clear that there is no evidence that Mr Perera has ever used performance-enhancing substances and we wish him well in his future cricketing endeavours."