Mohammad Shahzad handed one-year suspension by ACB
The ACB said that Shahzad repeatedly violated their code of conduct, stressing that he participated in cricket outside Afghanistan without permission from the national board, as is required by the terms of his contract.
"Shahzad has violated ACB’s disciplinary rules and regulations previously as well, and has not adhered to ACB’s code of conduct for players," their release stated. "He has travelled out of the country several times, violating ACB’s policy for players to seek its permission before doing so.
Afghanistan Cricket Board’s discipline committee has suspended @MShahzad077 from participating in any form of Cricket for a period of one year after he was found in breach of ACB’s code of conduct.
— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) August 18, 2019
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"ACB has well-equipped training and practice facilities within the country, and Afghan players do not require to travel abroad for such purposes."
Shahzad last played for Afghanistan during the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019, before being replaced mid-way through the tournament because of a knee injury.
The wicketkeeper-batsman is one of Afghanistan's most experienced players with 151 caps across formats – only Mohammad Nabi and Asghar Afghan have featured in more games for the country. But he has got into trouble a fair bit. In 2017, he was found guilty of violating ICC's Anti-Doping Code, having inadvertently consumed a banned substance. He had then received a retrospective one-year ban for the offence.