Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz has been handed a three-month suspension after testing positive for a cannabis-related substance, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Friday.
The 32-year-old tested positive for Carboxy-THC, a metabolite of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive component in cannabis, following Pakistan’s Twenty20 World Cup match against the Netherlands in February.
Carboxy-THC is classified as a Substance of Abuse under the ICC’s Anti-Doping Code.
The ICC said Nawaz admitted the anti-doping rule violation and established that the substance had been used out of competition in a manner unrelated to sporting performance.
As a result, he received a three-month ban, backdated to May 1, when he began serving a voluntary provisional suspension.
The governing body added that, after serving about two and a half months of the suspension and agreeing to complete a rehabilitation programme, Nawaz’s provisional suspension had been lifted.
In accordance with the ICC’s Anti-Doping Code, Nawaz’s individual results from Pakistan’s match against the Netherlands on Feb. 7 and all subsequent matches through May 1 have been disqualified.
Nawaz played in all seven of Pakistan’s matches at this year’s men’s T20 World Cup, from the opening fixture against the Netherlands through the Super Eights stage, where Pakistan were eliminated.
He scored 15 runs and claimed seven wickets during the tournament.
