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KARACHI, Pakistan - A Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) drugs tribunal today banned Shoaib Akhtar for two years and fellow fast bowler Mohammad Asif for one year, after finding them guilty of doping offences.
A statement issued by the tribunal said the players had been informed of the decision
and had the right to appeal. The bans, effective from October 15, rule both out of next year's World Cup.
The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Nasim Ashraf, said the tribunal's ruling was not a recommendation but a final decision.
"It is an independent tribunal and their decision is final under the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) regulations to which we are a signatory," he said.
"The players and the board have seven days to lodge an appeal against the bans. The board is still assessing the tribunal decision," he said.
The tribunal, headed by barrister Shahid Hamid and including former test captain Intikhab Alam and Waqar Ahmed of the Pakistan Sports Board, was set up by the PCB after both players tested positive for the banned steroid nandrolone.
They were recalled from the Champions Trophy in India earlier this month after the board got the results of the out-of-competition tests carried out in Pakistan before the tournament.
Hamid said both players had been given a fair opportunity to defend themselves and the tribunal made a decision after thorough investigation of the serious issue.
"We even offered the players the opportunity to have their B samples tested and to bring anyone they wanted to the hearing to help them," Hamid added.
"We made sure the process of tests was handed properly and both players accepted the findings of the WADA laboratory in Malaysia. They can now appeal to a higher tribunal," he said.
Akhtar is the first cricketer to be banned for taking a banned steroid and his punishment is the severest since Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne was suspended for one year before the 2003 World Cup for taking a diuretic.
"There are no mitigating circumstances which would justify the imposition of a sanction less than the minimum prescribed, namely a ban of two years," the tribunal said of Shoaib in its 19-page decision.
However, the tribunal said the circumstances justified a more lenient view in the case of the more inexperienced Asif.
Former test captains, Javed Miandad and Rashid Latif, reacted with shock to the announcement.
"I am deeply hurt and disappointed. It is a sad day for Pakistan cricket," Miandad said.
Latif said the two players should appeal.
"The players should appeal against the ban because they claim they are innocent and have taken the substance by mistake," he said.
Akhtar, 31, has taken 165 test and 208 one-day wickets and broke the 100 mph barrier bowling at the 2003 World Cup.
Asif, 23, is a relative newcomer to international cricket but has already taken 30 wickets in six tests.
The ban prevents the players from taking part in any international or domestic cricket and they have also been put on the Pakistan Olympic Association list of doping offenders.
Shoaib and Asif are also ineligible to receive any direct or indirect funding from the PCB or any of its affiliates.
- REUTERS