Prithvi Shaw fails dope test, banned for eight months
New Delhi, Jul 30: Talented India opener Prithvi Shaw was on Tuesday banned from all forms of cricket for a period of eight months after failing a dope test, the BCCI said.
A BCCI release said Shaw had "inadvertently ingested a prohibited substance, which can be commonly found in cough syrups".
Shaw's suspension is retrospective in nature, starting from March 16 and ending on November 15.
Apart from Shaw, two other cricketers Akshay Dullarwar and Divya Gajraj were also suspended for the same offence.
Shaw had provided a urine sample as part of the BCCI's anti-doping testing programme during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on February 22, 2019 in Indore. His sample was subsequently tested and found to contain terbutaline.
"Terbutaline, a specified substance, is prohibited both In and Out of Competition in the WADA Prohibited List of Substances," the BCCI release stated.
"Prithvi Shaw registered with Mumbai Cricket Association, has been suspended for doping violation," the BCCI said.
Terbutaline is generally used to treat problems related to breathing and can be consumed if the athlete in question avails a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) certificate in advance, which Shaw didn't avail.
The 19-year-old, who has played two Test matches for India scoring 237 runs with a hundred and a half-century, had earlier pulled out of India A's one day and Test series against West Indies A reportedly due to a hip injury.
The 19-year-old junior World Cup winning skipper had made a mark last year, hitting a hundred on Test debut against the West Indies, but was sent back from the tour of Australia after twisting his ankle during a practice game.
Shaw is currently at the National Cricket Academy undergoing rehabilitation for a reported hip injury, but the BCCI statement is an indicator that he was pulled out of Mumbai Premier League after testing positive.
The BCCI said that Shaw was charged with violating BCCI's Anti-Doping Rules (ADR) article 2.1.
"On 16th July 2019, Shaw was charged with the commission of an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) under the BCCI Anti-Doping Rules (ADR) Article 2.1 and provisionally suspended pending determination of the charge.
"Shaw responded to the charge by admitting the ADRV but asserting that it was inadvertent, being caused by his ingestion of the over the counter cough syrup he had taken for his cough," the release stated.
Shaw explained that he had taken terbutaline inadvertently to treat a respiratory tract infection and not as a performance-enhancing drug.
"Having considered all of the evidence and taken expert external advice, the BCCI has accepted Shaw's explanation of the cause of his ADRV, and on that basis has agreed that a period of ineligibility of eight months should apply, together with disqualification of certain results," the BCCI ruled.
The BCCI then explained why the suspension was back-dated.
"Under BCCI ADR Article 10.10.3, Shaw is entitled to full credit against that period of ineligibility for the provisional suspension that he has been serving since 16th July 2019.
"In addition, because Shaw promptly admitted his ADRV upon being confronted with it by the BCCI, there is discretion under BCCI ADR Article 10.10.2 to back-date the start of the period of Ineligibility to the date of sample collection (22nd February 2019). However, the BCCI ADR Article 10.10.2 also requires Shaw to actually serve one half of the period of ineligibility," BCCI said.
"Therefore, further to BCCI ADR Article 10.10.2, the eight-month period of Ineligibility will be deemed to have started to run on 16th March 2019, so that it will end at midnight on 15th November 2019."
However, the BCCI's rules would allow Shaw to start training from September 15.
Along with Shaw, Vidarbha U-23 player Dullarwar has also been suspended for eight months after he tested positive for Desacetyl Deflazacort, a metabolite of Deflazacort. He was playing a BCCI U-23 one day game.
Rajasthan's U-19 cricketer Gajraj has been suspended for six months after he was found to have taken acetazolamide, a diuretic and masking agent, during a Cooch Behar Trophy game.
— Prithvi Shaw (@PrithviShaw) July 30, 2019
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
MP minister's veiled remark on Col Sofia Qureshi sparks major row; he apologises, Cong seeks ouster
Bhopal/Indore, May 13 (PTI): Madhya Pradesh Minister and BJP leader Vijay Shah has sparked a major controversy with objectionable comments that appeared to be directed at Col Sofia Qureshi, whom he tried to project as a "sister of terrorists."
Under severe flak, Shah said if anyone is hurt by his statement, he is ready to apologise ten times, adding that he respects Colonel Qureshi more than his sister.
The Congress has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sack Shah from the Madhya Pradesh cabinet.
Colonel Qureshi had conducted regular press briefings, sharing details of the 'Operation Sindoor' launched by Indian armed forces to strike terrorists, joined by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh.
"Those people (terrorists) who had wiped out the sindoor (vermilion) of our sisters (in the Pahalgam terror attack)..We avenged these 'kate-pite' people by sending their sister to destroy them," Shah said.
"They (terrorists) killed our Hindu brothers by making them remove their clothes. PM Modi ji responded by sending their (terrorists') sister in an Army plane to strike them in their houses. They (terrorists) made our sisters widows, so Modiji sent the sister of their community to strip them and teach them a lesson", the BJP leader said while addressing a gathering in Ramkunda village near Indore.
He said, "Revenge was taken for the honour of our country (India), respect, and for the (slain) husbands of our sisters by sending a sister from your (terrorists') community to Pakistan".
The tribal welfare minister clarified that his remarks should not be construed otherwise.
Shah's remarks drew wide-scale condemnation, with Congress demanding his immediate dismissal from the MP cabinet.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said Shah, who made 'derogatory' remarks in reference to Colonel Sofia Qureshi, should be dismissed immediately.
"A minister of the BJP government of Madhya Pradesh has made a very derogatory, shameful and cheap remark about our brave daughter Colonel Sofia Qureshi. The terrorists of Pahalgam wanted to divide the country, but the country was united during the entire 'Operation Sindoor' to give a befitting reply to the terrorists," Kharge posted on X.
He alleged that the BJP-RSS harbours an anti-women mentality.
"First, the wife of the naval officer martyred in Pahalgam was trolled on social media, then the daughter of Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri was harassed, and now the BJP ministers are making such indecent comments about our brave woman Sophia Qureshi," Kharge said and appealed to PM Modi to immediately sack Shah.
Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari shared the video of Shah on X and asked whether the BJP agrees with the minister's "low thinking"?
The MP Congress Committee alleged that Shah's "indecent' and hate-filled" statement is not just a personal attack, but an open attack on India's military dignity, national unity, and women's honour.
Amid the raging controversy, the BJP's Madhya Pradesh general secretary Hitanand Sharma summoned Shah to the state headquarters in Bhopal.
According to sources, Sharma reprimanded the minister, who also met the state BJP president, Vishnu Dutt Sharma.
Speaking to reporters, Shah sought to attribute the intemperate remarks to his "disturbed" state of mind in view of the brutal killing of innocent people in Pahalgam by terrorists.
He claimed many members of his family have a military background and many were martyred.
"Sister Sophia has brought glory to India by rising above caste and religion. She is more respected than our own sister. I salute her for her service to the nation.
"We cannot even think of insulting her in our dreams. Still, if my words have hurt society and religion, then I am ready to apologise ten times,'' he added.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Manoj Shukla and the party workers blackened the nameplate of Shah at his bungalow and raised slogans seeking his resignation.
'हमारी सेना की जांबाज बेटियां आतंकवादियों की बहन हैं'
— Congress (@INCIndia) May 13, 2025
- ये घटिया बात मध्य प्रदेश में BJP सरकार के मंत्री विजय शाह ने कही है।
भारत की जिन बेटियों पर सबको नाज है, उन बेटियों को लेकर ये शर्मनाक बयान दिया गया है। उन्हें आतंकवादियों की बहन बताया गया है।
ये हमारी पराक्रमी सेना का… pic.twitter.com/y591M3ky8G
