Prithvi Shaw opened up on his eight-month ban after being tested positive for Terbutaline. He had a tough phase in his career after suffering an ankle injury on the Australia tour.
Shaw recalled how he took a cough syrup from the market without consulting his physio and it all went wrong for him since then. Talking to Cricbuzz, the youngster said he and his father are responsible for the mistake.
“Till New Zealand tour I was in a happy space. Basically, I was feeling okay, and then I did decently in IPL too in 2020. 2018-19 Australia series was something I was really looking forward to. And then suddenly this ankle injury happened.
"The physios and team management were trying to keep me ready for the third Test, but the recovery progress stopped after a point. I was in a lot of pain and was really sad. But these sort of things keep happening, and this is what the players and support staff tried to explain me.”
Shaw was suffering from a cough and his father advised him to get a cough syrup. The cricketer bought a cough syrup over the counter and didn’t check for its anti-doping compliance. After taking it for two days, he was found positive in his dope test which was on the third day.
“After I came back, I started my treatment and played the IPL. But then this cough syrup controversy came up. I think dad and I are responsible for it. I remember we were playing the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in Indore and I was down with a cold and cough at that time. So I had gone out for dinner and was coughing a lot. So I spoke to my dad. He asked me to take the cough syrup available in the market. What I did wrong was did not consult the physio, which was wrong on my part.
“I took that syrup for two days, and on the third day, I had my dope test. So that’s when I was detected positive for a banned substance. That was a really difficult phase for me, and can’t even express it in words. I was worried about my image, and what would people think about me. That is when I went for London, to stay away from all this. There too, I didn’t step out of my room much.”
(With Cricbuzz Inputs)
