Pakistan spinner Yasir Shah suspended for doping offence

REUTERS – Pakistan leg-spinner Yasir Shah has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for a banned substance, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Sunday.

“The sample Yasir provided in an in-competition test, which was conducted on 13 November 2015, was found to contain the presence of chlortalidone…” the governing body said in a statement.

Chlortalidone is a diuretic drug which features in the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) list of prohibited substances.

“In accordance with the ICC Anti-Doping Code, pending the outcome of the disciplinary process, Yasir has been provisionally suspended,” the ICC added.

The 29-year-old was the second player from the subcontinent to be provisionally suspended for a doping violation recently. Sri Lanka wicketkeeper-batsman Kusal Perera faces a four-year ban after his ‘B’ sample tested positive for a banned substance.

Shah’s sample was taken in Abu Dhabi which hosted the second match of Pakistan’s one-day series against England.

A wily leg-spinner who has bagged 76 wickets in 12 tests, Shah has also played 15 one-dayers.

(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; editing by Ed Osmond)