Pakistani batsman Ali Waqas has urged International Cricket Council (ICC) to allow him for usage of steroids due to medical complications he has been facing, following a kidney transplant.
Ali Waqas went through a kidney transplant last year and now he has decided to rejoin mainstream cricket. Waqas, representing Sui Northern Gas Pipeline (SNGP), had been playing under captaincy of Misbahul Haq.
It is not a first instance when a player has started cricket again after a transplant. Earlier in 2000, US Basketball player Sean Michael Elliott went under surgery and then resumed to the game. Similarly, Rugby player Jonah Lomu had also gone through a transplant in 2002.
Waqas vowed to play cricket again. He said patients like him “cannot survive without steroids” so he had approached the ICC, seeking special permission for usage of steroids.
He has already played 72 first class matches and represented Pakistan’s A-team. He also requested Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in this regard.
Meanwhile, Test player Basit Ali has said that ICC has been approached for special permission and Chairman David Richardson responded positively on the issue.
According to the rules of International Anti-Doping Agency, players can use steroids under certain circumstances but they are needed to take permission in advance.
