Monday 1 December 2008

Mohammed Asif have to wait for his drugs ban appeal


The appeal hearing into Pakistan seamer Mohammad Asif's doping case, scheduled for 29 November, has been postponed following the terror attacks in Mumbai.
The 25-year-old tested positive for banned steroid nandrolone during May's Indian Premier League competition.


His second sample, analysed under World Anti-Doping Agency conditions, was also positive, prompting an automatic ban.
Asif, who has played 11 Tests and 31 one-day internationals, faces a two-year ban if his appeal is rejected.


The IPL drugs panel consists of former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, lawyer Shirish Gupte and doctor Ravi Bapat. At an initial hearing last month, which was adjourned, Asif's lawyer, Shahid Karim, argued that the IPL tribunal did not have the authority to hear the case.
But the Pakistan Cricket Board, however, said it was prepared to support any decision the panel takes.

One key aspect of the defence will be that the quantity of nandrolone present in the two samples varied - the second providing a concentration of 5.4 nanograms per millilitre of urine compared with 6.2 nanograms in the first.


"We have worked on legal and medical aspects of the case and hope that after the hearing the drug tribunal will reach some conclusion.
"It's a matter of Asif's international career and we hope something positive will come out of the hearing," Karim said at last month's hearing.
In 2006, Asif and Pakistan team-mate Shoaib Akhtar were found to have taken nandrolone after failing PCB drug tests.


The pair were banned for one and two years respectively, but the ruling was overturned on appeal.

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