Shoaib, Asif to join team, says PCB Chief

ISLAMABAD—Shoaib Akhter and Muhammad Asif will play international cricket when they are safe from possibility of testing positive, the Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board, Dr. Nasim Ashraf, said on Tuesday.
“We will ensure through random testing that effects of their recent unintentional taking of banned substances through nutritional supplements are no more there”, the PCB Chairman said. He was speaking after Appellate Tribunal, headed by Justice (r) Fakharuddin G. Ibrahim, exonerated fast bowlers Shoaib Akhter and Muhammad Asif of using performance-enhancing drugs, thus clearing them for international competitions. Dr. Nasim said all Pakistan probables, including Shoaib and Asif, would undergo random Tests before they compete in international tournaments. “The players who will have a below 2 NG/ML drug level in their blood stream will be cleared for international competitions”, he said. To a question about the effects of unintentional drug-taking in the bodies of Shoaib and Asif, he said once a player uses drugs, “it takes about four to six months to get the drug level below 2 NG/ML”.
He said the tests of Pakistan probables, including Shoaib and Asif, were carried out before September 25. “Both the previous committee which banned the two bowlers and the tribunal which overturned the earlier judgement agreed that procedure of testing was fair”, he said. He said PCB had acquired the services of renowned sports lawyer Mark Gray as “amicus Curiae” or “Friend of the (appellate) tribunal” and he helped the tribunal reach its judgement. “We fully abided by the decision of the earlier court and also fully accept the verdict of Appellate Tribunal”, he said. “As for the procedure of testing, even the affected players said it was fair”.
He said the players said they never knew that there were banned substances in the nutritional supplements they used before the tests and Mark Gray emphasised on these points.—Agencies