From Kohli to MSD: Each time the boys in blue engaged in a verbal spat on field

The talented Indian opener was banned from all forms of cricket for eight months after failing a dope test. Shaw had provided a urine sample as part of the BCCI’s anti-doping testing programme in February 2019. His sample was subsequently tested and found to contain Terbutaline, a product used to treat problems related to breathing. A BCCI release said Shaw had “inadvertently ingested a prohibited substance, which can be commonly found in cough syrups”. Shaw admitted that youngsters need to be more cautious while consuming over-the-counter medicines.

The biggest name on this list also caused the biggest splash. On the eve of Australia’s 2003 World Cup campaign, legspinner Shane Warne returned home after testing positive for a banned substance, a diuretic known as Moduretic. The substance is present in drugs used to treat hypertension and high blood pressure. Later, Warne admitted to having taken a tablet, but said it was given to him by his mother “to improve his appearance before the cameras” and wasn’t a performance enhancing drug. He would never play another top-level ODI again.

On January 9, 2018, Indian all-rounder Yusuf Pathan was suspended by the BCCI for five months following a doping violation. The BCCI released a statement saying Pathan had “inadvertently ingested a prohibited substance” while undergoing treatment for a respiratory tract infection. However, like it later did with Prithvi Shaw, the board backdated the five-month suspension, meaning Pathan didn’t actually miss any top-level cricket.

Legendary English all-rounder Ian Botham never hid a fondness for the good life. And though he had denied using cannabis earlier, in an interview in 1986, he admitted to recreational use of the drug. Following vociferous protests, the English board suspended him for 63 days. The ban couldn’t have come at a worse time for the team, which lost a series against India in his absence. He came back in style, however, and on his first match upon return, became the highest wicket-taker in Test history.

In November 2006, Pakistani pacemen Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif were both found guilty of using the banned nandrolone steroid. Both insisted they did not take any banned substances knowingly. A month later, a tribunal committee overturned their bans, saying both players were able to prove “exceptional circumstances”; which means they weren’t aware of the substances they were taking. However, it wasn’t enough for the duo to make the squad for the 2007 World Cup, and they both missed the quadrennial event.

Over three decades after Botham’s suspension for cannabis usage, England opener Alex Hales faced the same fate. Hales tested positive twice to the recreational drug and faced a 21-day sentence. And while the suspension itself may appear brief, it cost the talented opening batsman a place in the World Cup side. Given that the side went on to win the World Cup would hurt even more. And what’s more, captain Eoin Morgan went on record to say there was a “complete breakdown of trust” between Hales and his teammates, suggesting that the way back could be very difficult.