5 Cricketers Who Were Suspended For Drug Abuse

In world cricket, many cricket stars from the past have received punishment for using drugs. The latest to do so on the list is Kagiso Rabada, who missed a few games in IPL 2025.

Prithvi Shaw, the Indian opening batter, also received an eight-month suspension for drug abuse after ingesting a substance, Terbutaline. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) revealed that the 19-year-old took the substance when he used a cough syrup.

But apart from this, so many other cricketers also got punished for drug abuse.

Here is a list of 5 cricketers who were suspended for drug abuse

1. Shane Warne

The late, great Australian leg-spinner, Shane Warne, received a 12-month suspension for drug abuse just before the 2003 ODI World Cup, when he tested positive for a banned diuretic. He claimed that he took a fluid tablet on his mother’s suggestion in an attempt to improve his voice.

But Warne didn’t notice the banned nature of and table he took, along with the drug policy of the Australian board, despite extensive briefings on the matter in the past. The panel later described Warne’s testimony as inconsistent and imposed a two-year ban.

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Later, the medical team opined that the steroids would not have enhanced the spinner’s recovery from the shoulder injury that he had suffered several weeks earlier.

2. Stephen Fleming

The former New Zealand captain and the current Indian Premier League (IPL) coach of the Chennai Super Kings, Stephen Fleming, is known for his cool behavior on and off the field. It’s shocking to see the former opener getting involved in doping and being banned for drug abuse.

Fleming was not found guilty for using performance-enhancing drugs, but he got caught smoking pot with a few Blackcaps’ players, Dion Nash and Matthew Hart. The incident took place in South Africa in 1994.

The ICC imposed several bans on the trio and banned them for the rest of the trip. Fleming later admitted that he had lost his sponsorship after the incident.

3. Yasir Shah

The International Cricket Council (ICC) suspended the former Pakistani spinner, Yasir Shah, after he failed a dope test during the 2015 ODI series against England. He was suspended for drug abuse by the ICC.

“The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced that Pakistan's bowler Yasir Shah has been charged with an anti-doping rule violation under the ICC Anti-Doping Code.” The world body gave a statement.

The leg spinner’s sample had the presence of Chlortalidone, a prohibited substance which appeared in Section 5 of the WADA Prohibited List. Yasir missed the Asia Cup and the ICC T20 World Cup 2016 in India.

4. Shoaib Akhtar

Pakistan’s aggressive pacer, Shoaib Akhtar, along with Mohammad Asif, tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs before their opening game in the 2006 Champions Trophy against Sri Lanka in Jaipur. The board later sent both pacers back home.

They were later cleared by an appeal panel of the abuse. The World Anti-Doping Agency challenged the Pakistan Cricket Board’s decision to lift bans on the fast bowlers.

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In July 2007, the Court of Arbitration for Sports dropped a drug abuse case.

5. Ahmed Shehzad

Pakistan’s opening batter, Ahmed Shehzad, received a four-month ban for violating the anti-doping regulations after testing positive in May 2018. The board provisionally suspended Shehzad in July after his urine sample collected during the domestic cup tournament had tested positive.

PCB mentioned that the 26-year-old accepted the violations and admitted that he had no intention of cheating. The statement didn’t specify the substance for which Shehzad had tested positive for drug abuse.