Russell gets one-year ban

West Indies Andre Russell bowls during a practice session in Gros Islet, St. Lucia.
Associated Press / Andres Leighton, file

West Indies all-rounder and Twenty20 star, Jamaican Andre Russell was banned for one year for an anti-doping whereabouts violation.

The 28-year-old globe-trotting cricketer missed three drug tests back in 2015 after failing to report his whereabouts and was penalized by the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission.

He had faced up to a two-year ban if found guilty of the violation, but will sit out several major upcoming global tournaments until January next year under the 12-month sanction which takes immediate effect.

Chairman of the Commission Hugh Faulkner said; “we have found from the evidence that there was a first filing failure for the period Jan. 1, 2015, to March 31, 2015, July 1, 2015 to Sept. 30, 2015 and then the third filing would have been July 31 to Sept. 30 but specifically, failure to provide an explanation required by anti-doping rules when you are late with the whereabouts of the filing”

He said the rules require that there must be three missed tests and that three missed tests happen within a 12-month period and “we found that was the case as a result, the panel had no option but to apply the sanction.”

Russell has played one Test, 51 One-Day Internationals and 45 Twenty20s for West Indies and was part of the squad which won an unprecedented second Twenty20 World in India last April.

He has been on the global Twenty20 circuit where he has made his name as an athletic fielder.