The drug that led to Qazi Onik's downfall
Citing anonymity, a source from BCB informed The Business Standard about the drug Onik took. The drug is called methamphetamine which is a potent central nervous system stimulant. But it is more popular as a recreational drug.
During the National Cricket League (NCL) in 2018 in Cox's Bazar, fast bowler Qazi Onik failed the dope test. He was found to have taken methamphetamine by which he violated the 8.3 section of Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB) anti-doping code. The highest cricketing governing body of the country banned the youngster from 8 February, 2019 to 7 February, 2021.
A source from BCB said that Onik was lucky to get away with a two-year ban. In these cases, the span of suspension is usually four years.
Citing anonymity, a source from BCB informed The Business Standard about the drug Onik took. The drug is called methamphetamine which is a potent central nervous system stimulant.
He said, "It's a drug which reduces fatigue. The Germans uses it during the World War II. That enabled the soldiers to compete in the battlefield without being exhausted. A sportsperson can be benefitted from it in some ways."
But he doesn't think that Onik consumed the drug for this reason: "He didn't have the drug to reduce fatigue I think. He took it as a recreational drug. It is widely popular in the world as a recreational drug. It's known as 'party drug' in some places. But I don't think he consumed it while partying, he had probably some bad company who must have coaxed him to take this. He has been banned for two years keeping his age in mind."
The 21-year old will be eligible to play cricket from 8 February, 2021 which is only seven months away from now. On asked why the official announcement came so late, the anonymous source from BCB stated, "It takes six months to to twelve months to complete the whole process. We were supposed to announce it six months earlier. But then Covid-19 broke out. Also, Onik's signature was mandatory."
"Secondly, there's nothing wrong in that. Because it's the first in our country. As many as four organisations, the National Anti Doping Organisation (NADO), South Asian Anti Doping Organisation, World Anti Doping Organisation and ICC are involved here. That's why it took time to complete the legal procedures," he said.
He mentioned that being completely unaware of how these things work led to the delay.
The matches that Qazi Onik played after being positive in the dope test will be erased from the records. He will be permitted to practice under BCB's supervision two months before his ban is over.
Debashish Chowdhury, the chief physician of BCB, didn't agree to tell anything about it. "Everything is mentioned in detail in the press release, so is in the five-page verdict. We have decided not to speak about this personally as it's a legal issue. If someone has to talk about it, it would be the CEO," Chowdhury said.