Shoaib gets 2 year ban, Asif 1

Pakistani fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif have been handed bans from cricket by the PCB, having failed drugs tests before the Champions trophy.

Akhtar has been given 2 years and Asif 1 year after testing positive for nadrolone on 16th October.

For Akhtar, 31, this may well spell the end of his international career. Asif, 23, was sentenced to just one year by the PCB three-man tribunal, despite the ICC’s doping rules requiring a minimum sentence of 2 years for a first offence.

“We gave a full chance to both the pacemen to fight their cases and after a thorough inquiry we feel they failed to prove their innocence,” stated Shahid Hamid, the chairman of the PCB’s panel.

“The process of doping was investigated carefully. We made sure the tests were conducted properly, samples reached the laboratory in Malaysia safely and there was no error in testing in the laboratory.

“Both the players were satisfied and accepted the tests and gave their point of view but after a thorough inquiry and bound by the WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) and the International Cricket Council we reached the decision.”

This is a huge blow for the Pakistan team, who recently crashed out of the ICC Champions Trophy at the bottom of group B, just 4 months ahead of the World Cup