Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif has been formally banned for one year from the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) for testing positive for Nandrolone during last year’s inaugural tournament.
”Mohammad Asif was found guilty by the IPL drug tribunal in as much as a prohibited substance namely Nandrolone was found in the urine sample from the player during the support period and the match played on May 30 2008 between the Delhi Daredevils and the Rajasthan Royals at Mumbai,” the IPL’s three-man anti-doping tribunal said in a statement published on Wednesday by Cricinfo.com.
Asif will be ineligible for IPL until September 21, ruling him out of the second season of the Twenty20 competition.
Asif had earlier asked to be released from his contract with IPL franchise the Delhi Daredevils while he contested the charges. His appeal had been delayed several times.
The 26-year-old paceman appealed against the results of the doping tests because the A and B samples showed different levels of Nandrolone, which he claimed was contained in eye drops he’d been using to treat a sore eye.
Asif was embroiled in another drug controversy last year, when he was detained in the United Arab Emirates for 19 days in June after 0,24 grams of opium were found in his wallet at Dubai Airport during a stopover on his way home from the IPL competition.
The Pakistan Cricket Board had suspended Asif from playing domestic and international cricket pending the IPL decision.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) released a statement saying it expected all member countries to adopt the ban, which would force Asif out of Pakistan’s upcoming limited-overs series against Australia and the Twenty20 World Cup in England in June. Asif has taken 51 wickets in 11 Test matches and played in 31 limited-overs internationals.
ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said the ICC had a zero tolerance to doping and was committed to the implementation of a new anti-doping code this year. — Sapa-AP