![Kagiso Rabada [Source: AFP]](https://onecricketnews.akamaized.net/parth-editor/oc-dashboard/news-images-prod/1776861008546_KagisoRabada.jpg?type=hq)
Kagiso Rabada [Source: AFP]
In elite sport, even the slightest lapse in discipline can cast an unforgiving shadow over a career otherwise defined by excellence. Back in early 2025, that harsh reality caught up with experienced South African fast bowler Kagiso Rabada.
The premier paceman found himself at the wrong side of cricket’s doping regulations, which triggered a three-month ban on him. While the ban was later reduced to just one month, it still left a significant dent in his reputation.
Similarly, on April 22 amidst the ongoing PSL 2026 season, Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz found himself under investigation after being tested positive for a recreational drug use. Evoking similar memories of Rabada’s drug ban, he is currently on a path to draw inevitable parallels with the South African cricketer’s ordeal as he has reignited debate around how such off-field lapses are scrutinised.
When Kagiso Rabada was banned for using cocaine
Back in early 2025 during the SA20 2025 season, Kagiso Rabada was tested along with several other cricketers for a surprise drug test. While he played the entirety of the SA20 season for the MI Cape Town and also turned up for South Africa at the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, Rabada was later informed that he had tested positive for a recreational drug.
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The seamer even admitted the offense and was handed a three-month ban, before the ban was reduced to one-month for successfully completing a substance abuse treatment programme.
In June later that year, the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS) confirmed that the recreational drug used by Kagiso Rabada which resulted in his ban was cocaine. The committee found the presence of Benzoylecgonine, which itself is a metabolite of cocaine, in Rabada’s results.
He served his one-month ban from competitive cricket between April 1 and May 1, which forced the express paceman to miss a good part of the IPL 2026 season for the Gujarat Titans franchise.
Mohammad Nawaz tests positive amid PSL 2026
Evoking haunting Kagiso Rabada memories from 2025, Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz has now been tested positive for recreational drug use. Following the result, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has initiated a formal investigation into the matter.
Nawaz recently played all seven matches for the Pakistan team at the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. While the cricketer has reportedly maintained his innocence, his plan to play for Surrey in the upcoming 2026 T20 Blast season has been cancelled by the English cricket club.
He is also struggling to come to terms in the ongoing PSL 2026 season for the Multan Sultans, having scored just 36 runs in four innings at a substandard average of 18, all while picking up just six wickets in seven innings at an expensive average of 32.66.
Nawaz likely to face a similar fate as Rabada
Testing positive for a recreational drug, Mohammad Nawaz might well be heading down a path similar to the one Kagiso Rabada endured last year. The coming weeks will now determine whether Nawaz can navigate the situation with the same resolution and return to the field with his reputation rebuilt.
As of now, it remains to be seen if he will be banned by the PCB from the ongoing PSL 2026 season in Pakistan.
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