Pakistan bowler Asif banned by IPL

Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif has been formally banned for one year from the lucrative Indian Premier League after testing positive for nandrolone during last year’s inaugural tournament.

“Mohammad Asif was found guilty by the IPL drug tribunal in as much as a prohibited substance namely Nandrolone was found in the urine sample from the player during the support period and the match played on May 30 2008 between the Delhi Daredevils and the Rajasthan Royals at Mumbai,” the IPL’s three-man anti-doping tribunal said in a statement published Wednesday by Cricinfo.com.

Asif will be ineligible for IPL or any other international or first-class cricket until Sept. 21, taking in the entirety of the second season of the Twenty20 competition. However Pakistan’s government had already ruled its players would not take part in the 2009 Indian league for political reasons in the wake of last year’s Mumbai terrorist attacks.

Asif had earlier asked to be released from his contract with IPL franchise the Delhi Daredevils while he contested the charges. His appeal had been delayed several times.

The 26-year-old paceman appealed against the results of the doping tests because the A and B samples showed different levels of Nandrolone, which he claimed was contained in eye drops he’d been using to treat a sore eye.

Asif was embroiled in another drug controversy last year, when he was detained in the United Arab Emirates for 19 days in June after 0.24 grams of opium were found in his wallet at Dubai Airport during a stop over on his way home from the IPL competition.

In 2006, Asif was suspended for one year by the Pakistan Cricket Board after testing positive for nandrolone, but the ban was overturned on appeal.

In this latest case, the PCB had suspended Asif from playing domestic and international cricket pending the IPL decision.

Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ijaz Butt ruled Asif out of contention for the national team until after Sept. 21.

“When his ban is lifted, we will definitely consider him for selection - depending on his fitness,” Butt said.

A three-member PCB committee, headed by former test wicketkeeper Wasim Bari, is investigating Asif’s detention in Dubai.

“The committee is looking into this and the report will be made public once we receive it later this month,” Butt said.

The International Cricket Council released a statement saying it expected all member countries to adopt the ban, which would force Asif out of Pakistan’s upcoming limited-overs series against Australia and the Twenty20 World Cup in England in June. Asif has taken 51 wickets in 11 test matches and played in 31 limited-overs internationals.

NEW DELHI, AP