The Pakistani first bowler Mohammad Asif returned home on Friday after the Dubai authority decided to drop charges of carrying illegal drugs, after almost 19 days of detention. He was charged and taken into custody on June 19 on his way back to Pakistan from India via Dubai.
Asif, suspected of carrying a contraband drug with him was detained by Dubai immigration authority. However, the authority after investigation found that the case and the evidence are not rigid enough to trail further though the UAE administration is tough enough on such cases.
Soon after his return, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which has been in high-level contact with UAE government, has asked the player to report at the headquarters and also intend to carry on an internal probe of the incident before allowing Asif to play at the Asia Cup.
According to Dubai Police, the bowler was detained for carrying 0.24 grams of opium in his wallet but discharged later due to insignificance of the evidence. But the Pakistan cricket board, no doubt, took the help on diplomatic front to bring the player out of the bars.
It is not for the first time that the bowler was suspected of taking banned drugs; earlier in 2006, Asif along with Shoaib Akhtar was banned for the intake of performance-enhancing steroid nandrolone. The ban was later removed by the board citing the fact that none of the bowlers had taken the substance knowingly.
Sources from PCB say "PCB intends to conduct an immediate inquiry into this matter, once the board receives official records from the UAE authorities."
Meanwhile, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has expressed its intention not to interfere in the case but considering the repeated doping cases in Pakistan cricket circuit, it may add pressure to PCB governing body in future.
The PCB however has announced a list of 20 players for the upcoming Asia Cup starting from June 24.
Pakistan Team: Shoaib Malek (Captain), Salman Butt, Nasir Jamshed, Younus Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq (Vice Captain), Shahid Afridi, Sarfraz Ahmad (Wicket Keeper), Umar Gul, Sohail Tanvir, Rao Iftikhar, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Khan, Fouad Alam, Mansoor Amjad, Bazid Khan, Naumanullah, Yasir Hameed, Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Raouf
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