Mohammad Asif To Challenge IPL Positive Drugs Test
Mohammad Asif, pictured here returning from Dubai after his 19-day detention, maintains he is innocent.
©REUTERS/Mohsin Raza (PAKISTAN) Picture Supplied by Action Images
After consultation with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and his lawyer, Asif commented:
"My lawyer is now handling the issue and I am not allowed to speak but I will do everything to prove my innocence. We will ask for a "B" sample test."
The challenge is a legal option available to any athlete who has tested positive under World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) regulations.
Asif's lawyer Shahid Karim also claimed Asif was innocent. "My client is a victim and he is innocent. He has no idea how his test came positive when he has not taken any drugs or banned substances," he said.
"My client has represented his country with pride and honour and he is keen to play for his country again. He is confident he will be cleared and he will stand vindicated that he is innocent of drug use," Karim added.
This is the third serious scandal involving Asif, a veteran of 31 One Day Internationals and 11 Tests for Pakistan.
In 2006, along with Shoiab Akhtar, he tested positive for Nandralone and was banned for a year before the board overturned the ban and earlier this year he was detained in Dubai for 19 days following the discovery of an illegal substance on his person.
