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.

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"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.

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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.

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