PCB tribunal to be overruled?

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has stepped in to resolve the situation after a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) tribunal controversially upheld an appeal against the doping bans of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif.

WADA spokesman Fredevic Donze claimed that the decision was “unreasonable”, and that it was in violation of the international anti-doping code. The WADA will be taking up the matter with the ICC, in an effort to reach a decision which remains in keeping with the WADA policies on doping in sport.

Akhtar had originally been banned for two years and Asif for one after they were both found guilty of using the banned substance nandrolone intentionally. They were both ejected from the Champions Trophy tournament last month after testing positive, but the tribunal has now upheld their appeals and lifted their bans.

There is now a chance, however, that with the WADA’s intervention, the bans could be reinstated, changed or even lengthened, if the WADA see fit to do so. The PCB may also come under fire from the ICC for their decision at a meeting in Dubai this week, with Australia expected to be especially vocal about the decision, having come under fire for their reaction to Shane Warne’s ban in 2003.

The WADA will be investigating the decision before making further comments, and is attempting to obtain copies of official documentation used in the decision making process. Cricket Web will bring you further news as it develops.