Cricket's battle with drug scandals

THE world of sport has seen its fair share of athletes fall foul of banned substances, and cricket is no exception.

- JEHRAN NAIDOO

Over the years, several prominent cricketers have found themselves embroiled in drug scandals - whether performance-enhancing or recreational.

With Kagiso Rabada admitting this past weekend to using a banned substance after a filled drug test, we look at five other players who've made headlines for the wrong reasons in recent memory.

Kagiso Rabada

Admittedly, the 29-year-old’s recent indiscretion doesn't seem as serious as what will follow below, but it will unfortunately damage his brand regardless.

KG is arguably South Africa's most prolific bowler of the modern era. The Proteas paceman, who has taken 327 Test wickets and 168 in ODIs since his 2015 debut, returned early from the IPL citing “personal reasons”.

It later emerged that he had tested positive for a “recreational drug” and was serving a provisional suspension. There has been a continued downgrading of the words used to describe the drug since, while Rabada apologised publicly on Saturday. It is hoped he will return in time for the World Test Championship final against Australia at Lord's in June.