"Mr Yusuf Pathan has been suspended for a doping violation. Mr Pathan had inadvertently ingested a prohibited substance, which can be commonly found in cough syrups," the BCCI said in a statement.
The 35-year-old Pathan had provided a urine sample as part of the BCCI's anti-doping testing program during a domestic T20 match between his team Baroda and Tamil Nadu on March 16 last year.
Pathan, on his part, said he was confident of being cleared of deliberate usage and vowed to be more careful in future.
"Competing for India and my home state Baroda has been a matter of immense pride and encouragement for me and I would never act in any manner to bring my motherland or Baroda, in any kind of disrepute," Pathan said in a statement.
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"In hindsight, I should have been more careful and checked the status of the medications with BCCIs dedicated Anti-Doping Helpline," he added.
He has not played for India since 2012 but has been seen in the Indian Premier League, turning up for the Kolkata Knight Riders.
"Mr Pathan responded to the charge by admitting the ADRV and asserting that it was caused by his ingestion of a medication containing Terbutaline that had been mistakenly given to him instead of the medication prescribed for him, which did not contain any prohibited substance," the BCCI explained.
"Having considered all of the evidence and taken expert external advice, the BCCI has accepted Mr Pathan's explanation of the cause of his ADRV, and on that basis has agreed that a period of ineligibility of five months should apply, together with the disqualification of certain results," the BCCI stated.
The governing body said Pathan had been provisionally suspended on October 28 last year and the Board has now decided to back-date the period of his final suspension from August 15.
"In all of the circumstances, the five-month period of ineligibility will be deemed to have started to run on 15 August 2017 and end at midnight on 14 January 2018," the Board stated.
The development comes amid the BCCI's stoic opposition to allow the National Anti-Doping Agency to test cricketers. The Board has refused to sign up with NADA despite repeated requests by the agency.
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