Asif tested positive--again.

This story is exclusively covered by Cricketnirvana.comhttp://www.cricketnirvana.com
Even as the Indian Premier League has declared that the it was Pakistani pacer Mohammad Asif who failed the dope test, Asif expectedly has denied the allegation and claims he had never taken any banned substance. He says he will seek the Pakistan Cricket Board's advise on a 'B' sample test to prove his innocence.Asif said that he was innocent and denied using any contraband - In fact, Asif, who played for the Delhi Daredevils during the IPL said that he was very careful about what medicines he used and was shocked and disturbed at how the test had turned out positive.When the pacer had returned from his recent 19-day detention in Dubai for carrying contraband drugs, he had said that he had cleared two doping tests in the IPL."I never thought my test will come positive because I know I took nothing. I will be talking to the Board and seeking advice on having a sample 'B' tested to confirm the issue," he said.The pacer, who has appeared in 11 Tests and 31 one-day games, had interestingly, said he had used a Hakeem's medicine for his elbow injury and nothing else.What next for Asif?Asif cannot yet be called guilty; as per procedures, Asif can request for a B sample analysis in the hope that the test may return negative.The chances of that are limited considering samples A and B are collected at the same time - but Asif and an IPL representative can attend that second Test.The results of the B sample will then be referred to the IPL Drug Tribunal which comprises of Sunil Gavaskar, Dr Ravi Bapat and Shirish Gupte.But considering this is the second time Asif has violated ICC's stringent anti-doping mesures, a life ban surely hangs over the Pakistan paceman.PCB to act toughMeanwhile the Pakistan Cricket Board is reportedly upset and disappointed with Mohammad Asif and is set to take a tough stance against the paceman saying it will not back the speedster this time round.Asif had earlier tested positive in 2006 after a banned substance nandrolone was found in his samples before the ICC Champions Trophy, but then the PCB tribunal had cleared him after the pacer proved his innocence.But this time round, after it was revealed that Asif has failed a dope test during the Indian Premier League the PCB chief operating officer Shafqat Naghmi expressed disappointment at the latest development and stated that they had no intentions of supporting Asif this time around.But PCB's Director of Operations Zakir Khan though said it was the IPL's prerogative to look into the Asif case since it does not fall under the PCB's domain
Mohammed Asif today became the first cricketer to have tested positive twice in dope tests even though cricket is replete with incidents where a number of players have been found guilty of the offence.The Indian Premier League today (Julyl 14) confirmed that Pakistan paceman Asif was the cricketer who tested positive in the random samples during the cash-rich IPL tournament.Asif, along with Shoaib Akhtar, also had tested positive for banned drug nandrolone in 2006 ahead of the Champions Trophy tournament in India.Cricket's image took a beating in 2003 when Australian spin wizard Shane Warne was found guilty of using banned diuretics and was subsequently excluded from the World Cup team.A one-year ban was also imposed on the legendary leg-spinner.West Indies player David Murray had also conceded that he was taking drugs since 1978. He revealed that he took marijuana before and after the match and even had to go to the jail for the offence.England all-rounder Ian Botham was also suspended for two months by the ECB for consuming hemp. Botham initially denied taking any drug but according to reports he later accepted his guilt.Another British player Phil Tuffnel also failed in a dope test.Former Pakistani pacer Wasim Akram was accused of carrying marijuana during his team's West Indies tour in 1993 while his compatriots Aqib Javed, Waqar Younis and Mushtaq Ahmed were arrested for the same reason.It required Grenada Prime Minister's intervention in sorting of the matter and the first Test match was delayed by one day.Former Kiwi skipper Stephen Fleming was caught red handed consuming hemp in 1993-94 during the South Africa tour. Fingers were also raised on Matthew Hart, Dion Nash, Adam Parore and Shane Thomson though New Zealand Cricket imposed fines only on Fleming and Hart.Six players from the South African team were imposed heavy fines for using narcotics while celebrating their win over the Caribbean team in 2000-01.Herschelle Gibbs, Andre Nel, Justin Kemp, Roger Telemachus, Paul Adams and team physio Craige Smith were fined USD 13,000 for the offence.As far as India is concerned no player till date has been found guilty of using drugs. However, former spinner Maninder Singh was caught with cocaine last year.