Pakistan batsman Ahmed Shehzad has been provisionally suspended and charged with violating anti-doping regulations after he tested positive for a prohibited substance in May, the country's cricket board (PCB) has said.
The 26-year-old's in-competition urine sample, which was collected during the domestic Pakistan Cup tournament in May, tested positive and an independent review board confirmed the result in June.
"He has been given till July 18 2018 to advise whether he wishes to have his B Sample tested and till July 27 to respond to the charges levelled in the Notice of Charge," the PCB said in a statement on its website https://www.pcb.com.pk/press-release-detail/notice-of-charge-handed-out-to-ahmed-shehzad.html.
"The PCB has also provisionally suspended Ahmed Shehzad pending the outcome of the charges."
Shehzad most recently played for Pakistan in the two-match Twenty20 series in Scotland in June.
(Reporting by Aditi Prakash in Bengaluru; editing by Sudipto Ganguly) ((Aditi.Prakash@thomsonreuters.com;))
