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An appeal committee hearing the doping case of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif has adjourned till November 20 on the request of Shoaib’s lawyer.

Justice (retd) Farkhruddin G Ebrahim, head of the appeal committee, said on Wednesday that the committee has “made some progress” but would next meet on Monday as Shoaib’s lawyer, Abid Minto, has requested the committee for more time.

Ebrahim said Minto has sought some documents from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) which he deems important in his client’s defence. “The lawyer told us he would be unable to go ahead with the hearing without those documents so we have adjourned till Monday,” said Ebrahim.

Shoaib was banned for two years while Asif got a one-year ban after the pace duo tested positive for illegal steroid nandrolone last month. The bans were handed out by an independent tribunal formed by the PCB.

Both the players continue to plead their innocence, saying that they may have taken the banned substances illegally and have appealed against the bans.

A committee that includes Ebrahim, former Test cricketer Haseeb Ahsan and doping expert Danish Zaheer, was later set up by the Board to hear the appeals.

The committee members met on Tuesday at the PCB headquarters in Lahore and later summoned Shoaib and Asif for a hearing on Wednesday. Shoaib was represented by Minto while former Test cricketer Aftab Gul came in as Asif’s lawyer.

Ebrahim said the players would be given complete opportunity to make their submissions. He refrained from giving any timeframe for a verdict on the appeals, saying that a decision would be made as soon as possible. “The case would be decided in accordance with the law and I expect to finish it as early as possible,” he said.

Meanwhile, well-known British lawyer Mark Gay has specially flown in Lahore to help the PCB deal with the doping case.

Gay represented the PCB at the code of conduct hearing against Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq following The Oval Test forfeiture this summer.
Source:The News