Deported Asif cannot play in UAE, says PCB
Doping-tainted paceman Mohammad Asif has been ruled out of Pakistan’s
series against New Zealand next month as he cannot enter the United Arab
Emirates, an official said Monday.
“We inquired about Asif’s position in the UAE and after checking
that, we can confirm that Asif cannot play there because if he goes
there he will be arrested,” Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz
Butt told reporters.
Pakistan are scheduled to play New Zealand in the United Arab
Emirates after the PCB lost the right to host foreign teams following
the March gun and grenade attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in
Lahore.
Asif was detained at Dubai airport for 19 days while returning from
India after featuring in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in June last
year.
He was found in possession of opium but Dubai police deported him
after they found the quantity of the drug was ‘insufficient’ to bring a
case.
The 26-year-old controversial paceman was fined one million rupees
(12,500 dollars) by a PCB disciplinary committee.
Before his detention, Asif failed a dope test in the inaugural season
of the IPL last year - his second doping offence in a short career.
He was banned for one year. After the ban expired, Pakistan recalled
him for the Champions Trophy, held in South Africa in September-October
but he played in only one match - against Australia.
After making his debut in Australia in 2005, Asif hit the headlines
for the wrong reasons the following year when, along with fellow paceman
Shoaib Akhtar, he tested positive for the banned steroid nandrolone.
Akhtar was banned for two years and Asif for one year, but the bans
were overturned on appeal. Asif termed his recall last month as his
“rebirth in cricket.”
LAHORE, AFP |