Pakistan paceman Mohammad Asif's doping tribunal hearing has been delayed due to the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, his lawyer said Thursday. "We were scheduled to leave for Mumbai early Thursday but the Indian Premier League (IPL) officials told us that they have postponed the November 29 hearing due to unrest in Mumbai," Asif's lawyer Shahid Karim told AFP.
"This delay has left Asif frustrated, although it was inevitable after such mayhem," he said. The 25-year-old was suspended from all forms of cricket after he tested positive for nandrolone during the IPL Twenty20 competition held between April and June this year.
The fast bowler faces a possible two-year ban from international cricket if the IPL doping tribunal rules against him. The IPL is sanctioned by the International Cricket Council and any ban would automatically stop Asif from playing in Pakistan as well.
Asif's second urine sample also tested positive for the nandrolone in August, but the discrepancies in the quantity of the two samples has given confidence to his lawyer that he can win the case. Asif also tested positive for nandrolone in 2006 along with fellow paceman Shoaib Akhtar. He was banned for one year and Akhtar for two, but the bans were overturned on appeal.
Pakistan were also due to send a regional team to India to participate in the IPL Champions League, but the league has been postponed due to unrest in Mumbai. "We were due to send Sialkott Stallions team to Mumbai despite the unrest," Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief operating officer Salim Altaf said before the announcement of the tournament's postponement.
Stallions were one of eight sides from five countries in the Twenty20 league scheduled to start in Mumbai on December 3 with at least six of the teams booked to stay at the Mumbai hotel Taj, which came under attack Wednesday night.
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