Asif faces life ban for IPL dope offence

Mohammad Asif could create history of an unwanted kind if he becomes the first cricketer in the game’s history to be banned for life for doping. The jury is still out on how this tricky situation will pan out — it will also depend on what Asif has tested positive for, a banned steroid or a recreational drug — but the fast bowler will not walk away unscathed.

At the very least, he will be banned from the Indian Premier League for a period of two years and from there on, it will be up to the Pakistan Cricket Board (Asif’s home board) to decide what to do. “This is a ticklish situation because the ICC has left it to the BCCI to take action,” Dr. Ashok Ahuja, leading sports medicine expert and anti-doping specialist told

HT

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The PCB, on its part, reacted guardedly, only saying that it would have to consult with its lawyers before deciding what to do. If the World Anti Doping Agency code is strictly enforced, then Asif automatically attracts a life ban, having failed a test for the banned anabolic steroid nandrolone in 2006. Sources indicated that the same substance had been found in Asif’s samples during the IPL tests but no IPL or PCB official would confirm this.

The pitch was further queered by the fact that, only recently, Asif was detained at Dubai airport for 19 days for possessing 0.24 gram of opium.