Afghanistan’s big-hitting batsman Mohammad Shahzad has tested positive for the banned substance Clenbuterol and will be suspended, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Thursday. According to the reports, Shahzad returned a positive test in an out-of-competition test conducted on January 17 at the ICC Academy in Dubai. “The ICC today announced that Afghanistan’s wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Shahzad has been charged with an anti-doping rule violation under the ICC Anti-Doping Code,” said a statement from the governing body in Dubai. The ICC said that Shahzad will be banned from April 26 unless he exercises his right to challenge the imposition of the provisional suspension before date. Officials of Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) said that they will provide information after the legal investigations are completed. Shahzad, who made his international debut in 2010, has played 58 matches in each of the ODI and Twenty20 formats. He has scored 1,901 runs in one-dayers with a best score of 131 not out while smashing 1,779 runs in T20 with a high of an undefeated 118. Shahzad is the fourth highest run-maker in T20 internationals, even passing Indian superstar Virat Kohli in the rankings when Afghanistan whitewashed Ireland 3-0 earlier this year.
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