Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) has suspended Brandon Mavuta and Wesley Madhevere due to their involvement in “recreational drug use.” The suspensions take immediate effect and will persist until their case for violating anti-doping rules is addressed.
Mavuta, a 26-year-old leg-spinner, has played for Zimbabwe 26 times, while Madhevere, a 23-year-old off-spin all-rounder, has participated in 98 internationals.
“The concerned players, Wesley Madhevere and Brandon Mavuta, both tested positive for a banned recreational drug in an out-of-competition case recorded during a recent in-house doping test,” ZC said in a statement.
“They have been charged under the Zimbabwe Cricket Code of Conduct for players and team officials and will appear for a disciplinary hearing soon,” the statement added.
Both athletes were involved in the recent international series against Ireland. Mavuta played an ODI on December 17, and Madhevere participated in a T20I a week earlier.
Zimbabwe faces challenges with the loss of their coach and failing to qualify for the T20 World Cup
The men’s team faces additional challenges as they couldn’t qualify for the 2023 World Cup and missed the 2024 T20 World Cup qualification, experiencing unexpected defeats against Namibia and Uganda.
On Wednesday, coach Dave Houghton resigned, citing a loss of control over the dressing room as the reason for his departure.
“I have always had Zimbabwe cricket at heart and, though my coaching of the national team comes to an end, I would love to be involved in other areas,” Houghton said in a ZC statement.
“The talent base in Zimbabwe is enormous. How we move players from talented to performing well on the international stage is a great project to be involved in.”
Zimbabwe is scheduled to face Sri Lanka in a three-match ODI series and a three-match T20I series in January.
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