Asif, Aktar in Doping Charges

[Fusion]

I do wish these two will never play international cricket again AND that Pakistan will perform fantastically well in international cricket without them so that they are never missed and given the burial they deserve. That would be real justice and act as balm to the hurt caused to the millions of Pakistani fans.

PS: I am assuming, of course, that they ARE guilty as it does appear to be at this time.

Even if the Pakistan team suffers without them, I hope we keep them both out. I hope they're banned and it serves as a lesson to everyone else.

 

[Xuhaib]

I do wish these two will never play international cricket again AND that Pakistan will perform fantastically well in international cricket without them so that they are never missed and given the burial they deserve. That would be real justice and act as balm to the hurt caused to the millions of Pakistani fans.

PS: I am assuming, of course, that they ARE guilty as it does appear to be at this time.

From a few interviews of Mohd Asif that i have seen he comes across as a very simple person a true village guy. I am sure he is not very well informed about which medicine is legal and which is not so there is a great posibility tha he might have taken the medicine on advice of someone to heal up his injury quickly. On the other hand Shoaib is someone who I expect would know what should be taken and what should not be taken.

 

[Pratters]

From a few interviews of Mohd Asif that i have seen he comes across as a very simple person a true village guy. I am sure he is not very well informed about which medicine is legal and which is not so there is a great posibility tha he might have taken the medicine on advice of someone to heal up his injury quickly. On the other hand Shoaib is someone who I expect would know what should be taken and what should not be taken.

I feel sad for Akhtar but more for Asif as well particularly considering he is so damn good and young. However on this point - ignorance isn't an excuse.

 

[Sanz]

I am not from Pakistan but I am proud of how the PCB handled this matter so far. They have set the standard for the rest. No self serving coverups like how the ACB covered up Mark Waugh and Shane Warne match fixing.

With all due respect to your rant, Didn't CA set a precedent in last world cup by suspending Shane Warne for one full year ?

 

[Sanz]

I do wish these two will never play international cricket again AND that Pakistan will perform fantastically well in international cricket without them so that they are never missed and given the burial they deserve. That would be real justice and act as balm to the hurt caused to the millions of Pakistani fans.

PS: I am assuming, of course, that they ARE guilty as it does appear to be at this time.

Are you for real ? Why shouldn't they be allowed a second or third chance after they server their ban ?

Whatever they have done is inexcusable and they should be punished for that but wishing that they never play international cricket and deserve a burial is simply a huge huge over-reaction.

 

[Xuhaib]

I feel sad for Akhtar but more for Asif as well particularly considering he is so damn good and young. However on this point - ignorance isn't an excuse.

I know its not an excuse and he should be punished, just pointing out that there is a chance he was ill-informed about the medicine that he was been prescribed by his doctor or trainer.

 

[steds]

Are you for real ? Why shouldn't they be allowed a second or third chance after they server their ban ?

If they do it enough to need a third chance they don't deserve to play any form of cricket again.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Sad news for all cricket fans, really. The CT is denuded of two of its potentially brightest stars.

That said, I doff my cap to the PCB whose behaviour has been exemplary in this matter. One can't help but think of the Warne incident &, as others have said, in the interests of fair play a one year ban should suffice IMHO.

I am surprised international sportsmen would recourse to Nandrolone tho, which (from what I've read having zero chemical knowledge of my own) is a fairly primitive steroid compared to what is available for the unscrupulous.

 

[Langeveldt]

Yeah condolences (if thats the right word) to Pakistani fans, I guess its a similar feeling to having to sit through the King Comission..

What I will say is that it was only a matter of time, pretty much all sports have had their share of drug scandles and cricket had to wait a long time (Warney aside) to really get hit

Anyway, a dark day for cricket, and I hope Asif and Shoaib do their time.. Shoaib I doubt will come back from this crisis

 

[TT Boy]

PCB could have covered this up pretty easily, just make out both players broke down with injuries let them miss the Champions Trophy get the substance out of one’s system or don’t because testing will not occur in the forthcoming test series with the West Indies. Welcome them back and goodnight Charlie the West Indies.

PCB should be commended.

 

[TT Boy]

I am surprised international sportsmen would recourse to Nandrolone tho, which (from what I've read having zero chemical knowledge of my own) is a fairly primitive steroid compared to what is available for the unscrupulous.

It may be ‘primitive’ but it is highly effective (especially for guys with bone disease) and pretty easier to cover up. I myself have high levels of nandrolone through use of creatine and protein shakes whereas my brother produces high levels of it naturally, like Christophe Dugarry.

 

[Legglancer]

With all due respect to your rant, Didn't CA set a precedent in last world cup by suspending Shane Warne for one full year ?

Should have been for two years ....

 

[Xuhaib]

PCB could have covered this up pretty easily, just make out both players broke down with injuries let them miss the Champions Trophy get the substance out of one’s system or don’t because testing will not occur in the forthcoming test series with the West Indies. Welcome them back and goodnight Charlie the West Indies.

PCB should be commended.

Thank god they did not do that.

 

[Beleg]

Hmm.

I am waiting for the player's side of the story.

In any case, I agree with Sanz.

 

[open365]

Did someone say that this was the first time the PCB had conducted drug tests or something?

If so, then that's even worse than i thought it was.

 

[haroon510]

it is just a sad day for me and i know for all the fans of cricket. i am a big fan of shoiab and asif it was just a dream pair shoaib and asif both opening the bowling.

i just think about the other options that pakistan have for world cup to open thier bowling. that is for sure that they are going to be ban for one to two years but what other options pakistan have for world cup. there is one thing for sure that if another bowler comes in and perform the same way as shoiab and asif performs that will ease the pain for pakistani fans.

 

[Turbinator]

haroon510 please change your avatar!! No no, I am just kidding, yea what can I say I was quite shocked and TBH (I'll be honest, unlike many of you Indian fans here) I was kind of delighted at the same time. I was sad because Asif is a great young cricketer with tremendous potential and has to go through this and Akhtar is also obviously a great bowler. Also, Asif doesn't look very educated to be able to deal with all this. But, however, I am kind of delighted too because if they get banned, as Indian fans and players, we won't have to worry about losing to are arch rivals anytime soon. However, if they are guilty then they don't deserve our pity. But if they are innocent, then I really do feel sad for them.

Good luck to all you Pakistanis, hope things get better soon. (I am NOT being sarcastic)

 

[andyc]

To all those comparing this with Warne, keep in mind that the drug he tested positive for was only a diuretic, which at worst is a masking agent, whereas nandrolone is a full on performance enhancing steroid.

 

[Matt79]

Well done to the PCB for acting so resolutely with this so far - I hope, and am sure, they will follow through now.

I'm extremely dubious as to whether we'll see any "logical" explanation coming out - just the same crap all drug cheats pull out when they're busted - tall tales that are amusing in their creativity and apparent ignorance of science but which are just rubbish. Drug cheats are the worst cancer in sport and these guys should get at least 1 or 2 years ban and be on probation for the rest of their careers after that. The international norm which should be applied here is a 1 or 2 year ban for a first offence and a lifetime ban for a second and that seems fair to me. Asif is young enough to come back from that if he stays clean.

What's an extra frightening and sad aspect of this is that they've failed what are apparently the first tests they've ever had to take. The charitable assumption, which has been mentioned several times so far in the thread, is that they started taking the junk recently to overcome long term injuries, but the fact is that we don't KNOW that to be true - its possible they've been on the stuff for some period of time. This is particularly devastating for Shoaib as it throws doubt over the legitimacy of all his performances to date and makes his title of World's Fastest Bowler rather hollow. I'm suret they'll deny this is the case, but neither guy has much credibility in my eyes at the moment.

I don't think any blame can be legitimately allocated to the increased number of games/pressure to get over injuries faster. That ** doesn't wash in full blown contact sports like rugby and AFL where guys play week in week out, so I don't care how much cricket is played, its not an excuse for cricketers.

Finally, have to say that it was probably inevitable that a scandal like this was going to happen in cricket - and already had with Warne's case - which admittedly wasn't a steroid, but still fully meritted a year out and a missed World Cup. Also, if it was going to happen, its unsurprising it is a couple of fast bowlers - they're really the only category of player who would benefit, apart from injury recovery, from the increased strength the drugs give you.

Again, feel awful for the Pakistani fans and for the rest of the team. Surely a real slap in the face for the people like Inzi who had prided themselves on introducing a policy of morality as part of the team culture. Here's hoping some other guys can come good and relegate these cheats to the nothing they deserve.

 

[Scaly piscine]

To all those comparing this with Warne, keep in mind that the drug he tested positive for was only a diuretic, which at worst is a masking agent, whereas nandrolone is a full on performance enhancing steroid.

A diuretic can be used to aid weight loss, so it can be construed as performance enhancing. The fact that could be used as a masking agent as well means on those two counts alone it should be treated as the same magnitude of ban as someone on nandrolone. When someone is caught with an illegal substance in their system you automatically consider it as the worst case scenario with that substance because it's usually impossible to deduce whether it was just an accident or they're a long-time cheat or what.