Proteas star Hamza banned for 9 months for doping

Proteas batsman Zubayr Hamza has been suspended from all cricket for nine months after testing positive for a banned substance.

The news was confirmed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday.

Hamza admitted to the charge after he was tested in Paarl back on 17 January with the results showing traces of the prohibited substance Furosemide, which is a specified substance in Section S5 of the 2022 WADA Prohibited List.

An ICC statement said they had "established no significant fault or negligence on his part".

The suspension has been backdated to 22 March 2022, the date that Hamza accepted a provisional suspension, and Hamza will be eligible to return to cricket on 22 December 2022.

All of Hamza's records between 17 January and 22 March 2022 have been disqualified.

"The ICC is committed to keeping cricket clean and has a zero-tolerance approach to doping," Alex Marshall, the ICC's Integrity Unit General Manager said.

"It is also a timely reminder to all international cricketers that they remain responsible for anything they put into their bodies, to know exactly what medication they are taking so as to ensure it does not contain a prohibited substance and does not result in an anti-doping rule violation."

Hamza (26) has played 6 Tests and 1 ODI for his country.