Asif’s B sample positive

Pakistani fast bowler Mohammad Asif is facing a two-year ban from cricket after his ‘B’ sample tested positive for the banned steroid nandrolone, his lawyer said Tuesday.

The 25-year-old tested positive during the Indian Premier League competition held between April and June, and the Pakistan Cricket Board suspended him in July on the basis of his first sample.

“We have just completed the test on Asif’s B sample and it has come back positive,” his lawyer Shahid Karim told AFP by telephone from Switzerland.

“But I can tell you that the quantity of nandrolone has varied, which we can contest. We hope to further this case once we get an official test report from the IPL.”

He said the ‘A’ sample contained a concentration of 6.2 nanograms per millilitre of urine, while the ‘B’ sample contained 5.4.

World Anti-Doping-Agency (WADA) regulations state that if a player is found to have a concentration greater than two nanograms of nandrolone per millilitre, the sportsperson may be banned.

Asif, who has played 11 Tests and 31 one-day matches, said he was confident that the discrepancy would help him.

KARACHI, AFP