Agha Akbar
LAHORE - Close on the heels of the Oval fiasco and the Younis Khan tantrum, Pakistan cricket is likely to hit another major crisis with Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif reportedly being pulled out of the Champions Trophy squad after an internal PCB test has found them positive for using performance enhancing drugs.
A source close to the PCB chairman revealed to this writer that there were apprehensions about Akhtar and Asif being tested positive for using steroids and they could be called back home by the PCB voluntarily, maybe as soon as today in the afternoon. “This is so because the new Pakistan Board under Dr Nasir Ashraf wanted to come clean on such practices by discouraging them as openly as possible”.
The altruistic motives aside, what the PCB is apparently trying to do is damage control before the fertilizer really hits the fan.
The ICC, getting firmer and firmer on drug abuse, was likely to conduct doping tests on two members of each participating team after every encounter during the Champions Trophy. And it was most likely that Akhtar and Asif, the two star performers in Pakistan’s much-vaunted pace attack, would have been tested sooner than later.
And if found out these would have been the two most high profile cases since Shane Warne was found using diuretic immediately before the 2003 World Cup and banned on the morning of the start of the global event from all cricket for one year.
The ICC has since gotten even more ambitious in terms of getting the sport clean of spurious practices, and the penalty for drug abuse is now double than that imposed on Warne - two years.
The sources involved in decision-making in the PCB divulged that if the Board decided to pull Akhtar and Asif out of the Champions Trophy squad on its own, it would be doing so for the fear that they were quite likely to be caught later in the tournament for the drug infringement. Such a finding would not only have put their individual careers in serious jeopardy but also cause serious set back to Pakistan’s prospects of winning the World Cup in 2007.
“We would not call them back stating that their mother was sick. We would not deal in lies, yet we would try and protect the careers of our star performers and make sure that they abandon their errant ways. The important thing is that the PCB intends to operate in an open and ethical environment from now,” was how a source high in the Board described the situation.
All said and done, this is a serious blow to Pakistan’s chances of doing well in the Champions Trophy, an event that the green shirts have not won - much like the most dominant team of the recent times, Australia - despite reaching the semi-finals twice, in 2000 and 2004. http://nation.com.pk/daily/oct-2006/16/index2.php
Asif and Akhtar to be sent back
Osman Samiuddin
October 16, 2006
Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif have both been recalled to Pakistan and will miss the Champions Trophy after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs following an internal Pakistan Cricket Board drugs test. The news comes on the back of an autumn of turbulence for Pakistan cricket, taking in the Oval fiasco, the captaincy saga and the replacement of the head of the board and severely dents Pakistan’s chances in the tournament, due to begin tomorrow with a match against Sri Lanka. More to follow Osman Samiuddin is Pakistan editor of Cricinfo http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/iccct2006/content/current/story/263238.html
Re: Breaking News: Akhtar, Asif-beaing called back to Pakistan!
Allah karey yee woh wali khaber ho
**
HEADLINE: BABRA SHARIF ko zibah (slaughter) ker deya gaya**
DETAILS: mandi bhaoo-uddin k pass eik bakree (goat) jis k naam BABRA SHARIF tha ko uss k malik nai ghaeebee sai tung aa ker zibah ker deaya aur qorma bana ker kha leya.
Re: Breaking News: Akhtar, Asif-beaing called back to Pakistan!
i dont know, the nation isnt usually like waheed khan and the news, but there must me something 2 this story since it has been printed, hopefully it is a ludicrious report!! i dont know about this naseem ashraf guy now, this "liberator" as he is trying to be! 2 early 2 say n e thing! lets wait and c!
Re: Breaking News: Akhtar, Asif-beaing called back to Pakistan!
Well if it sounds too bad to be true, then it most likely IS true. Bad for Pakistan in the short run i.e., ICC trophy, but good in the longer run. If they had been caught in ICC then they'd be out of World Cup.
Oh well, Pakistan wasn't going to do well in the ICC trophy anyway, what with Inzi missing and the Younis Khan fiasco.
Re: Breaking News: Akhtar, Asif-beaing called back to Pakistan!
Not underestimating, but Pakistan's chances do look extremely grim. While Pakistan may do reasonably well in the batting department despite our opening problems and Inzi's absence, our bowling can at best be termed weak if Akhtar and Asif aren't playing. All that's left is a recall for Sami, and most Pak fans would be ready to pull their hair out. Well maybe if Akhtar and Asif are pulled out, and if we have any luck, ICC rules won't allow a replacement at this stage.
The advantage in being pessimistic is that there's always a chance you'll be pleasantly surprised if your pessimism turns out to be unwarranted.
Re: Breaking News: Akhtar, Asif-beaing called back to Pakistan!
I really fear for their worldcup chances if this news indeed turns out to be true. At the very least series against West Indies is gone.
Whats up with every website having this 'More to follow' caption. Just tell us whats going on and get it over with. Its 11 am in India, they MUST have the latest news by now.
Re: Breaking News: Akhtar, Asif-beaing called back to Pakistan!
Somebody from PCB should take responsibility for Akhtar and Asif's trangressions. I remember reading back in November/Decmber last year that players needed to be educated on doping because ICC is becoming more and more strict about it. Well, you'd expect that being at the international level, you would have EDUCATED your ignorant/naive/paindoo players that doping is easy to test and should be avoided.
Given that these two had indeed failed the test, I think Naseem Ashraf did take the right step by taking them out becuase had they been caught in ICC's test, they would have been banned for TWO yeras, which means no World Cup, no Shoaib Akhtar (ever), and no Asif for a long long time!
Re: Breaking News: Akhtar, Asif-beaing called back to Pakistan!
Pakistan pair fail doping tests
Shoaib and Asif are Pakistan’s first-choice new ball pair
Pakistan are recalling bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif from the Champions Trophy in India after positive drugs tests.
The tests were carried out by the Pakistan Cricket Board three weeks ago and showed positive results for performance-enhancing drugs.
Pakistan are due to begin their Champions Trophy campaign against Sri Lanka in Jaipur on Tuesday.
The PCB said it would make a statement later on Monday.
The Pakistan team cancelled their scheduled morning training session following the news.
The International Cricket Council is also conducting random doping tests during the eight-nation Champions Trophy, ranked second only to the World Cup among the sport’s limited-overs events.
Chief executive Malcolm Speed said it would be the PCB who would deal with the matter as they had carried out the testing before the tournament began.
He told BBC Five Live: "We (the ICC) take a zero tolerance approach to doping in cricket. We are a signatory to the World Anti Doping Agency code.
“It is very disappointing this has happened, it is very disappointing for these players but we will get to the bottom of it in the next day or so.”
Speed said cricket did not have a worrying problem with performance-enhancing or recreational drugs.
He added: “Generally cricket has been considered a low-risk sport. The risk for cricket has always been a player who is injured taking a substance inadvisedly to come back quickly from injury.”
Australia spinner Shane Warne was banned from cricket for a year in 2003 for testing positive for two separate diuretics, hydrochlorothiazide and amiloride.