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Pakistani cricket authorities would only field fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif in their squad for next spring’s World Cup in the Caribbean islands after making it sure that the duo would not fail any dope tests before or during the prestigious quadrennial event.

A PCB official told this correspondent on Thursday that “all possible measures would be taken to assure that the players’ bodies are completely clean of any illegal steroids before the World Cup to avoid any possible embarrassment”.

Shoaib and Asif were recently exonerated by the PCB appeals committee of doping offences and their drug-related bans were set aside.

The pace duo tested positive for banned anabolic steroid nandrolone in October and was later banned by an anti-doping tribunal appointed by the PCB. The tribunal banned Shoaib for two and Asif for one year after finding them guilty of doping offences.

However, the acquittal by the appeals committee has paved the way for the players to resume their international careers and they now look set to play for Pakistan in the World Cup to be held in March-April. But there is one big problem. The International Cricket Council (ICC) would be carrying out random dope tests during the World Cup and in the current circumstances there are chances that it would include Shoaib and Asif in the list of players to be tested before or during the competition.

According to some experts, traces of nandrolone, a steroid used for performance enhancing, can remain in a person’s body for up to six months.

Shoaib and Asif gave urine samples for dope tests at the end of September which means they could have consumed the banned substance before or during the one-day series against England earlier that month.

Now, the ICC can carry out dope tests among competing players anytime between late February and March which means there is a marginal chance that either of the player may test positive again.

“We would take precautionary measures to avoid such a blow,” said the official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The players would be asked to take medicines to flush out any possible traces of nandrolone in their systems and they would certainly be tested again before Pakistan inducted them in the World Cup squad.

The PCB has already decided to carry out random dope tests of their leading cricketers. The official said that the tests would be carried out without any prior warnings to the players.

The Board will soon be starting steps to overhaul its anti-doping regulations and would align them with the ICC Anti-Doping Code and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Code.

The official said that the issue of improving PCB’s anti-doping regulations would come up for discussion during the Board’s ad-hoc committee meeting to be held in Karachi on December 17.

“The doping issue would be the top item on the agenda of the ad-hoc committee meeting,” said the official.
Source:The News