In an about turn, Pakistan cricket authorities today surprisingly lifted theban on fast bowling spearheads Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, imposed only 34days ago with great fanfare, and made them eligible for playing in the World Cupfive months away.
Shoaib was banned for two years and Asif for one by a dope tribunal onNovember 1, throwing their careers in jeopardy, but the new appellate tribunaloverturned the ruling which it said was "too harsh".
Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G Ebrahim, who headed the three-member appealstribunal, said their bans had been lifted after hearing out convincing argumentsthrough their lawyers.
"The bans on them were too harsh," he said adding it was up to thePakistan Cricket Board to decide whether the two bowlers could be fielded in theODI series against the West Indies, which commenced today at Rawalpindi.
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Justifying the ruling, Ibrahim said neither player was advised on takingvitamin supplements which might have led to them testing positive for the bannedsteroid nandrolone.
"We were totally independent and there was no pressure on us to give anyrubber stamp decision. We felt the whole procedure was not correct and the banwas too harsh and could destroy their careers," he told reporters inKarachi.
"Shoaib and Asif will not be deemed to have committed a doping offence.The ban and punishment imposed by the earlier tribunal is hereby set aside asbeing contrary to the provision of laws," Ebrahim said adding thethree-member tribunal made its decision by a 2-1 majority.
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Ibrahim said the committee found that the bowlers were never warned orcautioned against taking supplements.
Asif was only told to discontinue taking the supplements when he himself toldteam physio Darryn Lifson about them in August 2006, he said. Neither player was"even provided with any international or local publication warning themagainst the use of supplements".
It was the committee's "considered view that Shoaib Akhtar and MohammadAsif have successfully established that they had an honest and reasonable beliefthat the supplements ingested by them did not contain any prohibitedsubstances".
They were cleared under exceptional circumstances according to PCB's laws.
Shoaib and Asif were banned amidst tall claims by the PCB that they were keento set an example and that there was no place for cheaters in the game.
The bowlers had returned home in disgrace from India, which hosted theChampions Trophy in October-November, after it was revealed that the duo hadtested positive in out of competition tests conducted by the Board before theevent.
A dope tribunal, headed by Barrister Shahid Hamid, was set up to probe thescandal. The tribunal ruled that the bowlers could not satisfy the members thatthey had taken the banned substance inadvertently while handing them the bans.
The ruling was welcomed by the International Cricket Council which praisedthe PCB and the tribunal for their handling of the case and for imposing thepenalties.
PTI
