Shoaib to appear in dope test along with contracted players

Karachi (PTI): Though Shoaib Akhtar is not among the contracted player of the Pakistan Cricket Board, the maverick pacer has been told to appear in a dope test along with national team members.

PCB's decision to ask Shoaib, despite he not being a contracted player of the Pakistan board, undergo the test comes on the heels of media reports claiming syringes were found in his bag before his departure for the Indian Premier League.

While there is nothing extraordinary with the contracted players being put through a dope test, the decision to ask Shoaib too undergo it has created a stir.

Shoaib is already fighting a five-year ban for his comments against the board. He was granted one month reprieve by an appellate tribunal to allow him play in the IPL.

Akhtar's ban, which disallowed him playing anywhere in Pakistan or for Pakistan, will be reinstated from June 4 when appellate tribunal resumes hearing on his appeal against the ban imposed by the board.

Questions are being asked whether this has something to do with reports that custom officials had allegedly found large quantity of empty syringes in his luggage at the airport before leaving for India.

No board official was available to confirm or deny the development as the officials are in Colombo for the Asian Cricket Council meeting, but sources say the pacer would undergo the test even if he is under ban.

Akhtar tested positive in 2006 for taking a banned substance and was banned for two years along with Mohammad Asif but later the ban was overturned after an inquiry panel upheld his appeal.

source : www.hindu.com