Asif could land life ban following failed drug test

Published on Monday 14 July 2008 23:19

PAKISTAN fast bowler Mohammad Asif was left pondering a bleak future in the game after the Indian Premier League confirmed he had failed a drug test.

The paceman, who has lurched from one controversy to another, was immediately under suspicion after the International Cricket Council revealed it had been informed of an adverse analytical finding by the World Anti-Doping Agency laboratory, which had conducted the tests in the IPL.

Those reports were confirmed by the IPL, although the substance for which Asif tested positive was not revealed.

"The Indian Premier League compared the result from the WADA-approved laboratory in Switzerland with the data collected by IDTM, the Sweden-based independent agency which organised the anti-dope testing in accordance with World Anti-Doping Agency standards, to confirm that the player in violation is Mohammad Asif," an IPL statement read. "It was also checked if Mohammad Asif had applied for and was granted a Therapeutic Use Exemption. It was found he had not."

Asif was at a loss to explain the findings. "I am shocked and surprised because I was extra cautious and never used any banned substance.

"I don't know what to do. I will decide any action after consultation with the PCB."

But the PCB is likely to take a tough line, considering this is Asif's third instance of involvement with drugs. He was initially suspended for one year just before the Champions Trophy in 2006 after testing positive for banned substance nandrolone, but that ban was quashed by a PCB appellate tribunal.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport then appealed that decision but was forced to dismiss the case after it was decided it had no jurisdiction to intervene under PCB rules.

Last month, Asif was detained for close to three weeks by Dubai Airport authorities on suspicion of carrying drugs. The charges were subsequently dropped and Asif was deported.

The positive test in the IPL leaves Asif facing the possibility of a life ban. Shafqat Naghmi, the PCB's chief operating officer, said: "First the Dubai issue and now this. However, we will not show any leniency. We will take stern action against the player.

"The board will not provide any kind of help. He will have to fight the case on his own."

IPL chief operating officer Sundar Raman said Asif must make a decision on whether his B sample should be tested before the IPL could take action.