Teenage star receives backdated ban after being found to have taken banned substance contained in cough syrup
India prodigy Shaw suspended for doping violation
The Indian teenager who struck a century on Test debut as an 18-year-old last year has been handed a backdated eight-month suspension after "inadvertently" ingesting a banned substance contained in his cough syrup.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) revealed in a statement that Shaw had been charged with a doping violation earlier this month after a urine sample from February found he'd taken terbutaline, a banned substance under the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code.
Shaw, according to the BCCI, explained he'd taken the substance inadvertently to treat a Respiratory Tract Infection with an over-the-counter cough syrup.
"The BCCI is satisfied with Mr. Shaw’s explanation that he had taken Terbutaline … not as a performance-enhancing drug," the BCCI's statement read.
An eight-month ban was applied, but the 19-year-old will only serve half that after the BCCI backdated the sanction.
Shaw will be permitted to resume playing on November 16.
It’s the latest blow for the preciously-talented right-hander, who, after posting a century on debut against West Indies in October, suffered a gruesome ankle injury in a tour game at the SCG in November ahead of India’s four-Test series against Australia.
He hasn’t played a Test since, though he did play for the Chennai Super Kings in this year's Indian Premier League, and was recently ruled out of an India A one-day series in the Caribbean due to injury.