ICC hands Pakistan all-rounder Nawaz 3-month ban for breaching anti-doping code, backdated to May

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The International Cricket Council banned Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz for three months on Friday for breaching its anti-doping code.

But the ban was backdated to May 1, 2026, when Nawaz’s voluntary provisional suspension started, the ICC statement said.

“Nawaz admitted the offense and demonstrated that the substance had been used out-of-competition and in a manner unrelated to sport performance,” the ICC said.

“The 32-year-old tested positive for a Substance of Abuse (Carboxy-THC) under the ICC Anti-Doping Code following a doping test carried out after the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 match against the Netherlands in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 7 February.”

The ICC said that since Nawaz accepted the sanction and also committed to the rehabilitation program, the all-rounder’s “provisional suspension has been lifted after having served a two and a half month suspension.”

If Nawaz completes the rehabilitation program to the ICC’s satisfaction, he will not be required to serve the remaining half month of the three-month period of ineligibility.

Nawaz has primarily contributed to white-ball cricket for Pakistan and played in all seven games of the T20 World Cup.

He played in six test matches, but his last five-day game was four years ago against England in Multan.

He took 150 wickets in 44 ODIs and 98 T20s with his left-arm spin bowling. He also scored 911 runs in T20s and 538 runs in ODIs.

___

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket