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South African cricketer Zubayr Hamza has been suspended from international cricket by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after he tested positive for the use of prohibited substances. Cricket South Africa (CSA) released a statement to announce the news. It also added that the cricketer is fully cooperating and has accepted the immediate suspension.
"Cricket South Africa (CSA), the South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA), and Western Province Cricket Association (WPCA) today announced that Proteas player, Zubayr Hamza has tested positive for a prohibited substance under the International Cricket Council (ICC) anti-doping code. The positive test followed an ICC anti-doping test on 17 January 2022," said CSA in its statement.
"Zubayr is not disputing the positive test, is co-operating fully with the ICC, and has agreed to a voluntary suspension commencing immediately whilst written submissions are presented to the ICC," it added.
"The positive test relates to the substance Furosemide, which is not a performance-enhancing substance, and Zubayr has been able to identify how the substance entered his system. The process to follow will entail presenting evidence that there was no fault or negligence, or no significant fault or negligence on the part of Zubayr. CSA, SACA and WPCA are supporting Zubayr in this process, and will continue to do so until the matter is concluded," it further stated.
Hamza made his Test debut in 2019
Zubayr Hamza, born in Cape Town, made his Test debut against Pakistan in 2019 at Johannesburg when he became South Africa's 100th Test player since readmission. Hamza In 6 Tests, Hamza scored 212 runs at an average of 17.66.
He made his ODI debut against the Netherlands in November last year to score 56 in a washout before the series was called off before the Omicron variant of Covid postponed the remaining two ODIs. The batter had withdrawn from both Test and ODI series because of "personal reasons" when the squad was announced last week, for the Bangladesh series.