ZIMBABWE senior men’s team duo of all-rounder Wessly Madhevere and leg-spinner Brandon Mavuta have been suspended by Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) after testing positive to banned drug substances.
The two have been suspended with immediate effect according to a statement released by ZC yesterday.
The ZC board was angered by a spate of poor results which saw the team fail to qualify for the World Cup in India as well as the T-20 World Cup.
The Chevrons recently lost their home series to Ireland which fanned the flames.
“ZC has with immediate effect suspended two Zimbabwe international players from all cricket activities, pending a hearing, for allegedly breaching anti-doping rules,” wrote ZC communications manager, Darlington Majonga in a statement.
“The concerned players…both tested positive for a banned recreational drug in an out-of-competition case recorded during a recent in-house doping test.
“They have been charged under the ZC code of conduct for players and team officials and will appear for a disciplinary hearing soon.”
In its consultative meeting held at Harare Sports Club on Tuesday aimed at finding out the challenges bedeviling cricket and possible solutions, ZC board chairperson, Tavengwa Mukuhlani, declared a warpath against unaccountable and underperforming players.
- Chevrons scale up WC battle
- Zim wins bid to host Under-19 cricket World Cup
- Eagles complete domestic double with T20 crown
- Madhevere hattrick inspires Chevrons
Keep Reading
Mukuhlani argued that since time immemorial, the coaches have come and gone but the players retained their places and kept losing to the detriment of succeeding coaches.
“We fired Heath Streak, here for failure. We fired Rajput. Steve Mangongo was fired. Coaches have been fired here but there’s one constant that doesn’t change,” said Mukuhlani.
“So, we need to face it head-on and be honest because our domestic league cannot be the reason why we lost to Uganda.”
The 23-year-old Madhevere has played 36 One Day Internationals, 60 T20Is, high scores of 72 and 73 not out averaging 20.73 and 20.94 respectively.
“This group of players needs to be accountable, and we have to make that happen, yes, I agree we have got structural issues which we need to fix, and they must be fixed. We have got issues that we need to fix with our domestic, with our club, I agree, and we need these things fixed,” added Mukuhlani.
“But it’s not right that a country with 100 Tests matches, Madhevere has got so many matches, he loses to part timers and he goes to the hair saloon to make his hair, it can’t be right.
“It just can’t be right that you have got a bunch of players who do not take this game seriously.”
Chevrons head coach, Dave Houghton, who resigned on Tuesday said he felt the team needed a new voice and admitted he had lost the support of the players.
Madhevere and Mavuta are set to miss the tour to Sri Lanka next month for white ball series.
