Shaw clearly knew about BCCI’s anti-doping policies, must have overlooked it, says BCCI anti-doping manager

08/02/2019

According to BCCI’s anti-doping manager Dr. Abhijit Salvi, Prithvi Shaw was well are of the board’s anti-doping programme but might have overlooked it, underestimating the syrup’s danger. However, Salvi confirmed Shaw’s mistake was an inadvertent one and not for enhancing performance.

When news surfaced that the BCCI had suspended the talented 19-year-old on Tuesday, for eight months after he failed a doping test, quite a few concerned eyebrows were raised. According to a BCCI release, Shaw “inadvertently ingested a prohibited substance, which can be commonly found in cough syrups.” The 19-year-old Shaw, received a backdated suspension for using Terbutaline, present in his cough syrup. However, Dr. Salvi has stepped in to clear the air regarding the development.

“I am sure Prithvi knew about BCCI having an anti-doping programme and the helpline. He attended at least three anti-doping education programmes with us. He might have even attended the ICC’s programme conducted at the Under-19 World Cup in 2018. So he was well aware, but probably he just overlooked it and thought to himself ‘okay, the cough syrup shouldn’t be that dangerous’,” Salvi was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

Just the last year, the BCCI had banned India all-rounder Yusuf Pathan and Punjab wicket-keeper Abhishek Gupta for using the same substance. Dr. Salvi reckons that Yusuf’s case would have been an eye-opener, who began approaching medication with caution since.

“Earlier, people were casual and did not bother checking all the medicines they were consuming. Yusuf’s case was an eye-opener for everyone. Other cricketers realised that they needed to be careful, too. That’s when people who did not call earlier started checking their medicines regularly,” he said.

Even Salvi, who has served as the anti-doping manager since 2012, admits that these cases were a one-off in the past.

“If you look at the number of cricketers at all age groups, men and women, in India, this is the first time three cases have come up. Earlier it was the one-odd case. That speaks for our education programme. Sheer number of people calling in, the number of people being aware are far more than the number of people testing positive,” Salvi added.

Shaw will serve the retrospective suspension from March 16 to November 16. This means the youngster will miss out on India’s home series against South Africa and Bangladesh.