Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) Wessly Madhevere and Brandon Mavuta have been given the green signal to return to competitive cricket after completing four-month bans for drug use.
Madhevere and Mavuta were suspended by Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) after testing positive for a recreational drug in December last year. As part of the disciplinary action, the two cricketers were fined 50% of their salary for three months from January 2024.
As part of their recovery process, Madhevere and Mavuta have been instructed to undertake training in line with Zimbabwe Cricket’s High Performance Program during their suspension period. After completing their suspensions, both players were subjected to a drug test, which they successfully passed.
We are delighted to welcome Wessly and Brandon back to competitive cricket: ZC
They are now cleared to play competitive cricket again. This announcement was confirmed by Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) Chief Executive Givemore Makoni on Thursday, May 9. Notably, Madhevere and Mavuta were last represented before their suspension Zimbabwe during the home series against Ireland in December 2023.
Givemore Makoni said in an official statement: “I am delighted to welcome Wessly and Brandon back to competitive cricket after both have undergone rehabilitation and also passed a drug test to check they are now clean. More importantly, the two players have admitted their mistakes and vowed to stay clean and focus on their promising careers as cricketers.”
Apart from the ban on the all-rounder duo, batsman Kevin Kasuza also faced an immediate ban from all forms of cricket after testing positive for a banned recreational drug in January. However, there was no recent update from ZC on Kasuza’s ban status.
ZC launched an internal drug testing program
Meanwhile, in the same statement released by ZC, the board said they had implemented their own anti-drugs program to address the issue, independent of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
Makoni explained: “Aware of the dangers that recreational drugs can pose, ZC decided to go beyond ICC and WADA obligations and implement an in-house drug testing program. This is a very important initiative that should be welcomed as it provides education, advice and, where appropriate, treatment to rehabilitate players who have been exposed to social drugs.”
Additionally, the statement also revealed that ZC Academy player Davis Murwendo tested positive for a recreational drug in their recent internal testing. Murwendo is due to attend a hearing on his offense soon.
Notably, the Zimbabwe cricket team is currently on the Bangladesh tour where they are playing a five-match T20I series against the Tigers. However, the Zimbabwe team has already lost the T20I series by losing the first three matches against the Bangladesh cricket team.
The remaining two T20Is are scheduled for May 10 and 12 at the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka. However, Zimbabwe failed to qualify for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024 in the USA and the Caribbean.