Asif to appear before IPL drugs panel on Oct 11

Lahore, Sep 26 (UNI) Moving a step closer to discover his fate, controversial pacer Mohammad Asif will appear before an Indian Premier League (IPL) drugs panel for a hearing on his doping case on October 11.

The Pakistani bowler tested positive for the possession of a banned drug nandrolone during the IPL in May this year.

Asif's second sample, tested at a World Anti-doping Agency-accredited laboratory in Switzerland, also tested positive.

''I will be travelling with my client for the hearing,'' Asif's lawyer Shahid Karim told 'Geo TV'.

Earlier IPL had set August 30 as the date for the hearing, but it was postponed on request from Asif and his lawyer.

However, Karim said he was unhappy with the way the hearing process was delayed further.

''We had asked for a date in the second week of September, but we have been given a date only now,'' he stated.

The IPL drugs panel consists of former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, lawyer Shirish Gupte and doctor Ravi Bapat.

If Asif found guilty, he could be banned for a minimum of two years. The ban would also keep the fast bowler out of international cricket with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) prepared to endorse the ban.

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