3 Indian cricketers who tested positive for doping & faced consequences

A lot of cricketers apart from India have been found guilty of doping and have been banned for a specific period of time.

International sports have strict and stringent rules when it comes to doping. Athletes are tested on a regular basis for performance enhancements. If found guilty, severe punishments are given to the players or athletes who have been found guilty under the doping ban.

Cricket too has seen its own fair share of instances where players have been caught under the dope net. Former Australian star Shane Warne was banned for 12 months after testing positive for a banned substance. This came on the eve of Australia’s 2003 ODI World Cup game against Pakistan.

Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar too was banned in 2006 for the usage Nandrolone which is a banned substance. Initially, the pacer was banned for two years which was later lifted post an appeal. Mohammad Asif, who was banned for one year after testing positive while playing for Delhi Daredevils in the opening season of Indian Premier League (IPL).

3 Indian cricketers who tested positive for doping

Here are the three Indian cricketers who tested positive in the dope test

3- Anshula Rao

Madhya Pradesh woman cricketer Anshula Rao was suspended from cricketing activities for four years in 2020. Rao, had failed a dope test and was tested positive for using Norandrosterone which is being classified as a performance enhancer.

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) which had come under National Anti Doping Agency in 2019. This made, Anshula Rao the first Indian cricketer to be banned under the new rules.

2- Prithvi Shaw

Former India under-19 captain Prithvi Shaw was seen as the next big thing in world cricket. The young batter had tested positive for banned substance in February 2019 during the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament. It is to be noted that BCCI hadn’t come under the NADA gambit then.

Shaw, as per BCCI’s statement “had inadvertently ingested a prohibited substance, which can be commonly found in cough syrups”. The cricketer was eventually suspended for eight months. Shaw’s suspension began in March 2019 running up to November the same year.

1- Rajan Kumar

Uttarakhand’s left-arm seamer Rajan Kumar has been given his suspension order’s after failing a dope test. The left-arm pacer according to various reports, was suspended by NADA on 5th January 2026.

Reports suggests the 29-year-old was found with Drostanolone and Meteonlone mixed with Clomifene in his samples. The presence of Clomifene was seen as performance enhancement and was enough to be classified as a banned substance.

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