KINGSTON, (Reuters) – Andre Russell looks set to play in the World Twenty20 after the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission said on Friday the West Indies all-rounder would not be suspended pending a hearing into his “anti-doping whereabouts” rule violation.
The 27-year-old, named in the West Indies squad for the World Twenty20 in India that starts next week, has missed three doping tests within a 12-month period and faces a possible two-year ban from cricket if found guilty.
“The Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission has referred the matter regarding Mr. Andre Russell to the Independent Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel,” JADCO executive director Carey Brown said in a statement on Friday.
“The Commission is awaiting a date for the hearing. Mr. Russell has not been provisionally suspended.”
Precedent would suggest that the panel, chaired by Kent Pantry, is unlikely to set a hearing date until long after the World Twenty20 is concluded on April 3.
Russell, who helped West Indies win the 2012 World Twenty20, is therefore likely to be available for the opening Super 10 match against England in Mumbai on March 16.
Athletes must tell their local anti-doping agency where they will be for at least one hour each day to facilitate drug tests, World Anti-Doping Agency rules state.
If an athlete misses three drug checks within a 12-month period, that counts as a positive test.
Russell, who last month helped Islamabad United win the Pakistan Super league and was named man of the tournament, also plays for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League.
