Harare, Jan 25 (IANS): Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) has banned Wesley Madhevere and Brandon Mavuta from competitive cricket for four months due to recreational drug use. The duo received their sanctions after appearing in a disciplinary hearing on Wednesday last week.

Madhevere and Mavuta were charged with breaching the ZC Employment Code of Conduct that arose when they tested positive for a banned recreational drug during an in-house doping test in December.

Madhevere and Mavuta have also been fined 50 percent of their salaries for three months, starting from January 2024, while they also received final written warnings valid for 12 months. As they undergo rehabilitation overseen by ZC medical personnel, they have also been ordered to train under ZC’s High Performance programme.

"ZC has a zero tolerance towards drugs and drug taking and, in imposing the sanctions, the Disciplinary Committee considered that drug taking was a serious offence and that the breach by the two players had brought the organisation and the game of cricket into disrepute.

"In taking the decision, the Committee also considered some mitigating factors, with both players showing remorse and having already started working on withdrawing from the habit and getting their systems clean," said ZC in a statement.

It also added that they have suspended another men’s cricketer Kevin Kasuza from all cricket activities with immediate effect pending a hearing. Kasuza tested positive for a banned recreational drug during an in-house doping test last week. He is due to appear for a disciplinary hearing soon and Kasuza is being charged under the ZC Employment Code of Conduct.