Lahore, Jul 15 (UNI) The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has assured all possible help to the ICC, World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the IPL in enforcing the anti-doping regulations in the Asif case.
''We will be closely monitoring the case and will offer every reasonable assistance to the ICC and other ICC members as they may require for the implementation and enforcement of their anti-doping regulations,'' PCB Chief Operating Officer Shafqat Naghmi said.
''We will also be closely associated with the proceedings of the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India)/IPL drugs tribunal as the PCB is entitled to attend the proceedings... as it has a legitimate interest in the outcome of the hearing,'' he added.
The PCB, which has adopted a tough stance on the Asif issue, omitted the pacer yesterday from the 30-man preliminary squad for the Champions Trophy at home this September.
The latest doping controversy is the third drugs-related scandal to hit Pakistan cricket since 2006, all involving Asif.
Shoaib Akhtar and Asif tested positive for the banned steroid nandrolone in 2006 in out of competition tests conducted by the Pakistan board before the Champions Trophy in India.
They were initially banned for two years but the suspension was overturned by the board's anti-doping appeals committee, which said the pair had argued they had taken supplements in the belief they did not contain prohibited substances.
Last month Asif spent 19 days in detention in Dubai for alleged possession of an illegal substance. He still faces a probe by a PCB fact-finding committee although he was released without charge by the Dubai public prosecutor.
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