Brendon McCullum clears the air on his positive drug test in IPL 2016
What's the story?
Former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum cleared the air about a positive drug test in IPL 2016 as he said that it was the result of the medication he was taking for his asthma. He was eventually cleared of the anti-doping violation by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
"As far as I am concerned it was just a matter of making sure we got everything signed off properly, rather than it being a failed drug test," he said in an interview with stuff.co.nz.
"There was a bit of a process to go through to make sure they had all the information and ticked off the areas they wanted to see, but we went through it all and [the BCCI] were actually pretty good to work with, in the end."
"I certainly don't see it as a failed drug test. It was just a case of we just need to seek clarification and apply for this. I have no ill-feeling about [the process] and I also have no guilt or remorse about it because I needed a puff of my inhaler at that time."
In case you didn't know...
The former New Zealand captain had a positive drug test during IPL 2016. Before Gujarat Lions' game against Delhi Daredevils at the Ferozshah Kotla, he took a higher dose of asthma medication due to the excessive pollution levels in New Delhi. His urine sample contained an excess of salbutamol, which is in the inhalers used to treat asthma. Six months later, he received a notice of investigation from BCCI after his urine sample returned an adverse analytical finding (AAF).
The details
McCullum took a series of puffs from his inhaler before he scored a 36-ball 60 that helped his side get over the online but that also meant he exceeded the maximum dosage set out by WADA.
That meant that he had to prove through a study that the result was because of a therapeutic dose and his doctors and support team had to spend the next few months avoiding to fight a ban. In January 2017, the former Kiwi skipper was issued a retroactive therapeutic use exemption (TUE) and was cleared of the anti-doping violation.
"I've heard this sort of rumbling around in the background for a while and I actually said to my wife, 'I don't know why we don't just deal with this now, I've got nothing to hide and it is better off just talking about stuff rather than having other people talking about it'. Otherwise, it just grows and festers," he added.
What's next?
Brendon McCullum is part of the Trinbago Knight Riders squad and will next be seen in action in the Caribbean Premier League where he will be hoping that his side can reclaim the title they won last year.