LAHORE: Discarded Pakistan opener Ahmed Shahzad has decided not to challenge the positive dope test report as he did not request the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for the testing of ‘B’ sample while the deadline for the same expired on Thursday.

Now Shehzad, 26, has to submit his reply in his defence by July 27 and then the PCB will decide the penalty for his act of irresponsibility according to World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules.

Sources said by not challengingthe report, right-handed Shehzad has the chance to receive lighter penalty, but at the same time it all depends on how successfully he pleads the case.

WADA has different terms of punishment under different circumstances. Moreover, Shehzad’s move of hiring the services of Babar Awan, a leading lawyer, will also make some ‘positive’ effect on the case.

Dr Asad Abbas, a WADA expert, told Dawn that marijuana, which was found in Shehzad’s sample, is considered a relatively lighter pleasure drug. And as its effects could not last long, so, its use was only dangerous during a tournament or match. WADA had the rules to ban an athlete for a maximum of four years in case of proven guilty, he added.

However, in certain circumstances, like if an athlete proves that someone cheated him, the minimum doping ban in this case is just three months. According to Dr Asad, marijuana is considered a recreational drug but its use is banned during an event.

WADA took Shehzad’s sample during a domestic cricket match staged in Faisalabad the report of which was received last month. And the PCB also sought the opinion of the review board, which also endorsed the sample report.

After the report of the review board, the PCB started the procedure against Shehzad and allowed him to challenge the test by July 18.

Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2018