PAKISTAN: CRICKET - Appeals against doping bans of Pakistani fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif to be decided within a week

A decision on the appeals of Pakistani fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif against their doping bans will be given by next week, the Chairman of the Appellate Commission said on Tuesday (November 21). Justice Fakhruddin G Ebrahim said proceedings of the appeal hearing had been completed. He said a final verdict on their appeals was expected within a week. Akhtar and Asif were recalled from the Champions Trophy in India last month after they tested positive for a banned steroid, nandrolone. Their positive results came after the Pakistan cricket Board had held out of competition tests before the Champions Trophy. A drugs inquiry tribunal headed by barrister Shahid Hamid subsequently heard their cases and banned Akhtar for two years and Asif for one year. When asked if the banned players could approach the International court of Arbitration for sports if their appeals were rejected, Ebrahim said in his opinion the decision should be final and binding on these players but nothing was final in the law, he said. He said the two players and their lawyers had been given a final questionnaire to fill in and return to the commission within two days. The two pacers will miss next year's World Cup in the West Indies if their appeals are not upheld.

ITN Source | November 22, 2006

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