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Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) has suspended Brandon Mavuta and Wesley Madhevere for "recreational drug use".
The suspensions will be effective immediately and will apply until their case on breach of anti-doping rules is heard. Mavuta is a 26-year-old leg-spinner who has represented Zimbabwe 26 times. Madhevere, meanwhile, is a talented 23-year-old off-spin all-rounder who has already featured in 98 internationals.
“The concerned players, Wesley Madhevere and Brandon Mavuta, both tested positive for a banned recreational drug in an out-of-competition case recorded during a recent in-house doping test,” ZC said in a statement.
"They have been charged under the Zimbabwe Cricket Code of Conduct for players and team officials and will appear for a disciplinary hearing soon,” the statement added.
Both players were part of the recent international series against Ireland. While Mavuta featured in an ODI on December 17, Madhevere played a T20I a week before that.
Big blow for Zimbabwe after losing coach and missing T20 World Cup qualification
The decision comes at an already tough time for the men's team.
After failing to qualify for the 2023 World Cup, the African country also missed out on the 2024 T20 World Cup qualification, suffering unexpected losses against Associate teams Namibia and Uganda.
Then, on Wednesday, coach Dave Houghton resigned from his job saying he had lost control of the dressing room.
"I have always had Zimbabwe cricket at heart and, though my coaching of the national team comes to an end, I would love to be involved in other areas," Houghton said in a ZC statement. "The talent base in Zimbabwe is enormous. How we move players from talented to performing well on the international stage is a great project to be involved in."
Zimbabwe are next slated to play Sri Lanka in a three-match ODI and a three-match T20I series in January.
