Using a substance that gets rid of enhancers is an icky look, but Hamza hopeful of not getting it in the neck
The withdrawal of batsman Zubayr Hamza from both the Proteas ODI and Test squads playing against Bangladesh was explained on Wednesday when the 26-year-old was revealed to have failed an ICC anti-doping test.
Hamza tested positive for Furosemide, a diuretic which can be used to get rid of performance-enhancing drugs. But while any use of prohibited substances is an icky look for a sportsman, Hamza, according to informed sources, is hopeful that he will be able to avoid getting it in the neck from the ICC by proving his ingestion of the substance was inadvertent.
New guidelines issued by the World Anti-Doping Agency last year have also downgraded the severity of diuretics and if their concentration in the body is less than 20ng/ml then no sanction is necessary.
According to Cricket South Africa’s statement released on Wednesday, Hamza has been able to say exactly how the substance entered his body and has accepted a voluntary suspension until he is able to prove the source of his positive test and his inadvertent use of Furosemide, which is also widely used to increase water loss from the body.
The worst-case scenario for prohibited use of Furosemide is a two-year ban, but Hamza’s representatives are believed to be hopeful that his punishment will be nowhere near as severe.
It is, however, another kick in the shins for one of the country’s most promising batsmen, who has only just returned to the national squad after a slump in form.