Mohammad Nawaz reacts throughout ICC T20 World Cup match towards India in Colombo, Sri Lanka on February 15, 2026. — AFP
Pakistan spin-bowling all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz has been handed a three-month interval of ineligibility by the Worldwide Cricket Council for breaching the Anti-Doping Code, with the suspension backdated to Might 1, 2026.
Nonetheless, the sanction might be lowered to 1 month if he completes a substance-of-abuse rehabilitation programme authorized by the ICC, permitting him to make an earlier return to cricket.
In keeping with a press assertion issued by the ICC, the 32-year-old had examined optimistic for a Substance of Abuse (Carboxy-THC) underneath the ICC Anti-Doping Code following a doping take a look at carried out after Pakistan’s ICC Males’s T20 World Cup 2026 match towards the Netherlands in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on February 7 this yr.
The ICC clarified that the case concerned a Substance of Abuse and that the substance was not taken for sporting benefit. Nawaz’s eligibility to return to cricket will depend upon the profitable completion of the required rehabilitation course of.
“Nawaz has accepted a three-month period of ineligibility,” the ICC mentioned and added that the suspension interval “will be reduced to one month on completion of a substance of abuse treatment programme for breaching the ICC Anti-Doping Code”.
The ICC confirmed that Nawaz admitted to the offence and demonstrated that the substance had been used out-of-competition, in a fashion unrelated to sport efficiency.
Beneath the ICC Anti-Doping Code, the violation resulted in a three-month suspension, which has been backdated to Might 1, 2026, the date he started a voluntary provisional suspension.
Nonetheless, the suspension will be lowered to 1 month if Nawaz efficiently completes a substance-of-abuse rehabilitation programme to the ICC’s satisfaction. Having already served round two and a half months of provisional suspension, Nawaz’s ban successfully permits him to return as soon as the rehabilitation requirement is fulfilled.
If he doesn’t full the programme, the complete three-month ineligibility interval would run till August 1, 2026.
As a part of the sanction, Nawaz’s data from Pakistan’s match towards the Netherlands on February 7, 2026, alongside together with his performances in subsequent matches till Might 1, have been disqualified in accordance with the ICC Anti-Doping Code.
