Re: Pakistan Team - developments and news (merged)
Afridi being tested…where are Asif and Actor…
Afridi to undergo dope test today](The News International: Latest News Breaking, World, Entertainment, Royal News)
KARACHI: All-rounder Shahid Afridi would undergo a dope test in Lahore today after returning home from England where he recently featured in a charity match.
Afridi is one of the only three players from Pakistan’s 20-man World Cup yet to undergo a dope test made mandatory by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) ahead of next month’s World Cup in the West Indies. Fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif are the other two players yet to be tested.
“Afridi would be tested tomorrow in Lahore and we expect that Shoaib and Asif would go through the test once the national training camp gets underway there from February 23,” a PCB official said on Tuesday.
Shoaib and Asif, who tested positive for a banned performance enhancing substance last October, are currently abroad with the former in Malaysia to shoot a commercial and the latter in England on a private trip.
Their dope scandal that rocked Pakistan cricket ahead of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy was the reason why the PCB decided to test their players before the World Cup.
But so far, the two have seemingly avoided the dope tests and their reluctance has been fuelling rumours that the bowlers may have to miss the World Cup. The PCB has made it crystal clear that the World Cup-bound players will have to pass dope tests to play in the prestigious event.
“All players will have to clear the dope tests to play in the World Cup,” said the PCB official who added that Shoaib and Asif are likely to be tested later this week.
The 15-man Pakistani team is scheduled to leave for the Caribbean on March 1. The results of the dope tests are expected to be announced by the PCB ahead of the squad’s departure.