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2 Pakistani Players Banned for Doping

Posted on November 1, 2006
Filed Under >Adil Najam, People, Sports
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Adil Najam

The decision on the doping case is finally in and Pakistan fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif have been hit by bans after testing positive for nadrolone. Shoaib is out for 2 years and Asif for one.
According to CricInfo:

Both men tested positive in the build-up to the Champions Trophy, and were pulled out of Pakistan’s squad on October 16, the day before their opening game. The ban could effectively end Shoaib’s career, because he will be 33 by the time the ban is lifted. The testing had been conducted internally by the PCB, and a three-man tribunal comprising barrister Shahid Hamid, the former captain Intikhab Alam and Waqar Ahmed, a medical expert, had conducted an inquiry.



Both men had been recovering from injuries in the weeks and months building up to their positive tests, with Shoaib suffering from knee and ankle problems and Asif fighting back from a shoulder problem that forced him to miss much of Pakistan’s tour of England last summer. Shoaib initially denied any misconduct, saying: “I have not knowingly taken any performance enhancing drugs and would never cheat my team-mates or opponents in this way.” But earlier this week, both men declined the offer of a retest on their B samples, which implied that they did not question the results. Both men are, however, entitled to appeal against their ban.

“We gave a full chance to both the pacemen to fight their cases and after a thorough inquiry we feel they failed to prove their innocence,” said Hamid, the chairman of the panel. “The process of doping was investigated carefully. We made sure the tests were conducted properly, samples reached the laboratory in Malaysia safely and there was no error in testing in the laboratory. “Both the players were satisfied and accepted the tests and gave their point of view but after a thorough inquiry and bound by the Wada (World Anti-Doping Agency) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) we reached the decision.”

Hamid explained why the two had received different sentences. “Akhtar contested the case saying that he has been on a high-protein diet which contained beef, chicken meat and other dietary supplements and he also said he took some herbal medicines from a Hakim (herbal expert) but he couldn’t prove them.” Under the ICC’s doping rules, a two-year ban is the minimum penalty for a first offence. However, the PCB said all along it will take its own decisions, since the tests were conducted internally. As a younger member of the squad, Asif, 24 next month, has been let off comparatively lightly, and can be expected to fight again for his place next year. For Shoaib, however, the final curtain could be falling on an eventful and controversial career. Both players do, however, have the right to appeal and, if they do, a separate tribunal will be conducted.

For Pakistan cricket as a whole, the verdict marks the end of an unpalatable three-month period, which began with the ball-tampering controversy at The Oval, which led to the first forfeiture in Test history and a four-ODI suspension for their captain, Inzamam-ul-Haq. Younis Khan, Inzamam’s stand-in, then resigned on the eve of the Champions Trophy, claiming he did not wish to be a “dummy” captain, only to be reinstated following the resignation of the PCB’s exasperated chairman, Shahrayar Khan.

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32 comments posted

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  1. thegame says:
    May 16th, 2011 12:52 am

    pakistani mad hahahaha lol dont take serius ok………

  2. February 17th, 2007 11:59 am

    [...] There is the news about him failing to show up for the Pakistan team’s dope test. This, of course, coming so soon after Shoaib’s earlier dope debacle raises serious concerns. Even more serious are the allegations he has made on the team coach – and since denied by Woolmer – about racist remarks. [...]

  3. December 5th, 2006 10:00 am

    Well, there you have it. Another tribunal, another decision, another confusing set of details, and the nation left hanging….

    From Dawn:

    Cricket-Pakistan’s Akhtar, Asif win drugs ban appeal KARACHI, Dec 5 (AFP) Pakistan fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif Tuesday won their appeals against bans for doping. A three-member appeals committee in Karachi accepted the duo’s defence that neither was advised on taking vitamin supplements which may have led to them testing positive for the banned steroid nandrolone. Appeals committee chairman Fakhruddin Ibrahim told reporters the team’s management was to blame for failing to inform the two bowlers about vitamin supplements. The committee, also including former Test cricketer Haseeb Ahsan and doping expert Dr. Danish Zaheer, made its decision by a 2-1 majority, with Zaheer the dissenting voice because he wanted more tests on both players, Ibrahim said. “I missed playing cricket for my country and now I hope that I will resume my career,” Akhtar said. “I am breathing again, my life was jolted no end by the ban. I can’t describe the feeling,” he added. “I am delighted to hear that I will be playing again. These two months have been the worst of my life and only today I resumed training,” said Asif. “I hope the bad days are over now. I badly want to play,” he added. (First Posted @ 12:30 PST Updated @ 17:12 PST)

  4. British Pakistani says:
    November 7th, 2006 3:29 pm

    lol…that poetic piece of work is funny and amazingly true!

  5. November 4th, 2006 1:41 am

    On a lighter note, this from Anwar Shaoor in Jang today:

    Khuda kay fazl say cirkit main hum nay
    khilaRi bhi baRay paida keeaye hain
    magar yeh waqia apni jagah hai
    anaRi bhi baRay paida keeaye hain

  6. Asma says:
    November 4th, 2006 1:21 am

    In case no one has read it … BORIAT had an interesting newsitem on it too :)

  7. Raza Haider says:
    November 3rd, 2006 2:56 pm

    i understand the panels rationale but there is no need to make comments on shoibs personal life(drinks alcohol and has an active sex life)

  8. Raza Haider says:
    November 3rd, 2006 2:27 pm

    Here is what Intikhab Alam, lead member of the panel had to to say:

    Intikhab rubbished speculations that the panel was unfairly harsher on Akhtar than Asif. “If people read our statement they will understand,” Intikhab asserted. “He [Shoaib] drinks alcohol, has an active sex life and he’s been part of anti-doping awareness programmes. Shoaib has been around for the last ten years and the written statement that his spokesman gave about him taking dietary supplements and not consulting a doctor, shows he was negligent.”

    On Asif he said: “We decided to ban him for a year because his English is not that good, he comes from a remote village where he would not have been educated on the dangers of drugs in sport and so he doesn’t understand.”

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