KARACHI: Pakistan pace bowler Mohammad Asif’s B sample has tested positive for a banned substance, his lawyer Shahid Karim said yesterday.
Asif, who failed a drugs test in the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 tournament in May, will appeal against the findings, Karim told Reuters by telephone from Geneva.
“We are definitely going to appeal because the test results of the same samples are different,” Karim said.
He added that the ‘B’ sample test conducted in Switzerland on Monday had approximately 5.4 milligrams of nandrolone traces in the urine sample while the first test had shown 6.2.
Asif, who denies ever taking any banned substances, was confident of winning his case on appeal.
“I am not disheartened. The different results show something is wrong somewhere. We will be filing an appeal with the drugs inquiry tribunal of the Indian Premier League and we will fight this case to the end,” he told Reuters.
“I used some medicines which were prescribed to me for my elbow injury before going to the IPL. But I have not used any banned substances or drugs ever,” he added.
Asif, who has played 11 tests for his country, has already been suspended from playing any cricket or taking part in any cricket activities by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
He faces more PCB disciplinary action after a fact-finding committee completed its investigations into the reasons for his 19-day detention in Dubai in June while returning from India.
The Dubai authorities had detained Asif after finding a small quantity of an illegal drug on him.
Asif had also tested positive for nandrolone in 2006 before the Champions Trophy but, after being banned by a drugs inquiry tribunal, he was cleared by a PCB appeals tribunal.
Ankle injury rules Sehwag
out of Sri Lanka series
In Dambulla, Sri Lanka, India opening batsman Virender Sehwag has been ruled out of the one-day series against Sri Lanka after injuring his ankle in training.
India’s leading batsman in the Test series, Sehwag twisted his ankle in training on Sunday and missed the opener of the five-match series a day later, a contest India lost by eight wickets.
Sehwag will return home and a decision on whether to send out a replacement has yet to be made.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni admitted the loss of the in-form opener was a major blow.
“He was a batsman in top form but that’s the way it goes in cricket,” Dhoni told reporters.
India are already without talismanic batsman Sachin Tendulkar, who has an elbow injury.
