> Ban On Shoaib Akhtar Lifted - To play the 2007 Cricket World Cup

Sources in the PCB say that the head of the tribunal, ex-Governor Sindh Justice Fakharuddin Ebrahim, had made up his mind to clear the players in accordance with the desire of the PCB patron-in-chief President General Musharraf who had asked the PCB chairman Naseem Ashraf to ensure that the career of the two players does not come to an abrupt end.

Sources said that from day one, the PCB wanted the two players to be spared, knowing that the absence of these players would diminish Pakistan’s chances of success in the World Cup being played next year.

When asked if their sentences were to be reduced eventually, why the two players were treated so harshly by the inquiry commission, the sources said the PCB had no other option once the results of the doping tests had turned out to be positive.

Had the two players not been held accountable by the PCB, the ICC would have acted against them and treated them more harshly.

The World Anti-Doping Agency is considering a challenge toPakistan's decision to overturn bans on Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif but will await the result of talks with cricket's governing body.

Akhtar was banned for two years and his new-ball partner for one year in November after they tested positive for the steroid nandrolone but they won their appeals against the suspensions last week.

Both the International Cricket Council and WADA have criticised the decision by a local appeals committee, which will allow both fast bowlers to play in the 2007 World Cup.

WADA has successfully challenged such decisions before the Court of Arbitration in Sport in Switzerland in the past.

The ICC chief Percy Sonn says the decision highlights inconsistencies in Pakistan's anti-doping process, while the head of WADA Dick Pound has reportedly said it is aberrational.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has said it is prepared to face any move from the World Anti-Doping Agency challenging the decision to set aside the doping bans on fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif.

Amidst reports that WADA may challenge the decision of the PCB-appointed appeals tribunal to exonerate the pacemen of doping charges, a senior PCB official said it was prepared for the eventuality.

"We feel we did the right thing in appointing the inquiry and appeals tribunals to hear out the case and the fact is that both players were exonerated on basis of the anti-doping regulations of the Pakistan Cricket Board and not that of WADA or the International Cricket Council," he said.

"The bottom line is that both players tested positive in an out of competition test that we carried out and it was not supervised by the ICC or WADA," he said.

He said the Board was consulting its legal team on possible action from WADA and even had the option of using barrister Mark Gay to defend itself.

Gay is an acknowledged legal expert on doping cases and was called by the Board to assist the appeals tribunal as a friend of the court.

Asif has admitted that it was Gay who helped them get reprieve and that he had submitted that bans were not admissible as the tests were carried out under PCB local regulations. "If the need arises we can seek any legal expert's help. But so far neither the ICC nor WADA have told us anything about any possible challenge of the decision of the appeals panel," the official said.

A WADA official said it may challenge Pakistan's decision to overturn bans but will await the result of talks with the ICC.

Shoaib was banned for two years and Asif for one year in November after testing positive for a banned steroid and were called back from the Champions Trophy in India. They pleaded innocence on the ground that they did not take the substance intentionally.

The ICC and WADA have made it clear they were not satisfied with the tribunal's decision.

WADA official Frederiz Donze said it was in the process of studying the case and was yet to get a copy of the decision from the tribunal.

"We are presently in touch with the ICC and will see what we can do."

But he did not rule out the possibility of a strong action.

It is being speculated that WADA could challenge the decision in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but Donze said it was premature to confirm anything.

Sources in the PCB said that WADA and the ICC were still waiting for the report of a member of the tribunal Dr. Danish Zaheer who was against the exoneration.

Though their bans have been overturned, dope-tainted Shoaib Akhtar and fellow Pakistani pacer Mohammad Asif just can not breathe easy with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) deciding to take their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland.

This might seriously jeopardise the career of the pace duo, who were initially banned before a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) appeal panel lifted it.

WADA chairman Dick Pound told BBC World Service Sport that the agency would contest the decision on the basis that the International Cricket Council (ICC) is a signatory to the anti-doping code and Pakistan, as one of its full members, should therefore be subject to its provisions.

''The two players tested positive. They have not even asked for the B samples to be analysed, so they accept the result (of the initial tests) and the Pakistan Cricket Board simply did not apply the code,'' said Mr Pound.

The WADA chief didn't spare the ICC either.

''The ICC doesn't seem to be entirely clear which way it wants to go, so rather than wait and possibly have the thing fall between stools, we're going to exercise our responsibility under the code - we do not think the proper result has been achieved to date.

''If we are successful in this, I think it will be a matter of considerable embarrassment to the ICC that it did not act,'' he explained.

Reacting to PCB chief Dr Naseem Ashraf's observation that the case was board's ''internal matter'' and was ''over'', Mr Pound said, ''Our job is to monitor compliance with the world anti-doping code which prohibits the substances the two cricketers took.

''In cases of that nature, there are sanctions that are meant to be applied and in our view they have been improperly applied. You cannot have in an anti-doping system an individual national federation purporting to act without regard to the rules of the international federation which has adopted the code,'' he elaborated.

Admitting that CAS might take some time to deal with the issue, the WADA chief said, ''That would be something we would bring to the attention of CAS to urge them to deal with the matter as expeditiously as possible but these things have to take their course,'' he added.

Originally Posted by Safin

now they get two top class drug taking ballers back also
WC is gonna be exciting.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has backed the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) decision to appeal against the lifting of doping bans on Pakistan fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif.

WADA has asked the independent Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport to rule on a decision by a Pakistan Cricket Board appeals tribunal to lift both players' bans.

Akhtar was banned for two years and Asif for one after they tested positive for the banned steroid nandrolone in October.

In a statement on Monday ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed said that the world governing body's lawyers had examined the findings of the appeals tribunal.

"Our lawyers...do not believe the ICC has a right of appeal but we will cooperate with WADA and provide it with any assistance it requires," Speed said.

Fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, who were cleared of doping charges two weeks ago, have been included in a shortlist of players for Pakistan's tour of South Africa from January.

The Pakistan selectors have also recalled pacer Shabbir Ahmed whose 12-month ban for an illegal bowling action, imposed by the International Cricket Council (ICC), ends today.

Twenty-five players have been named on the shortlist, including a second wicketkeeper in Zulqarnain Haider following concerns over the performance of Kamran Akmal.

Pakistan will play three Tests and five one-day internationals in South Africa.

"The players will attend a short conditioning camp in Lahore next week before the final squad is announced," a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) spokesman said. Shoaib and Asif were exonerated of doping earlier this month and had their long-term bans set aside by a PCB appeals panel.

In November, they had been banned for two years and one year respectively after testing positive for the steroid.

The pair, who were recalled from the Champions Trophy in India after the positive tests, were cleared after the appeal panel ruled they had not been given sufficient warning that supplements they were taking could be contaminated with banned substances.

Shoaib played his first competitive match since August last week in the Patrons Trophy first-class tournament.

The PCB on Sunday announced Inzamam-ul-Haq as captain for the South Africa tour and next year's World Cup.

Probables: Inzamam-ul-Haq (captain), Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Imran Farhat, Mohammad Hafeez, Yasir Hameed, Faisal Iqbal, Asim Kamal, Salman Butt, Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Yasir Arafat, Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul, Shabbir Ahmed, Mohammad Sami, Rana Naved, Shahid Nazir, Danish Kaneria, Abdul Rehman, Zulqarnain Haider, Rao Iftikhar.