Mumbai team coach, Vinayak Samant and physiotherapist, Deep Tomar, who were with Prithvi Shaw and the team during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in Indore have recently stated that Shaw did not approach them at any time to complain of cough and cold.
On the other hand, BCCI’s report on Shaw’s positive dope test said, “Having travelled to Indore, Shaw began to suffer from common cough and cold.” And this very statement is raising questions on the board for probably mishandling the case.
In an interview with the Times of India, both Samant and Tomar said, “He had a slight fever. But there were no symptoms of cough or cold. Neither did he approach us with any complaints, nor did he ask for a remedy. We were available all the time.”
Team manager Ganesh Iyer also added that even he was not approached by Shaw. ‘I noticed he had some cold, but he did not come and tell me anything.”
Thus it seems hard to believe, that someone like Shaw, who has been trained to be careful about what he consumes, walked out of the hotel to buy a cough syrup from a nearby medical store and consume it without any supervision.
BCCI’s report for the case prepared by board’s anti-doping manager, Abhijeet Salvi, with details from NCA (National Cricket Academy) head Toofan Ghosh and physiotherapist Ashish Kaushik, states, “He consulted his father who suggested he visit a pharmacy to obtain a remedy for his symptoms. Shaw visited a local pharmacy close to the hotel in Indore, where a pharmacist recommended to him an over-the-counter syrup that he said would provide immediate relief.”
However, according to those who are close to Shaw, he is hardly in touch with his father and is instead close to his guardian - Sanjay Potnis, at whose home he has been living for the past 10 years. Thus, despite having a doctor on call at the hotel, it seems very strange that Shaw had to call up his father for consultation.
What adds another layer to the case is the fact that, when asked by the BCCI, Shaw had accepted that he knows that many cough syrups that are available over-the-counter contain terbutaline (the content he was tested positive for), but still went ahead with its consumption.
Now, this is something the BCCI is answerable to the nation for!
Feature Image Courtesy: AFP/ Noah Saleem
