Asif to appear before IPL tribunal later this week

Lahore, Oct 8 (UNI) In a bid to clear himself from a doping offence, pace bowler Mohammad Asif will appear before a three member Indian tribunal later this week at Mumbai.

The 25-year-old Asif tested positive for nandrolone during the Indian Premier League (IPL) and was since suspended from all forms of cricket.

''Asif and I are flying to Mumbai early Thursday and will appear before the three-member IPL. We hope to fight this case out to our best abilities,'' Asif's lawyer Shahid Karim told cricketnirvana.com today.

Michael Graham, a sports medicine expert, will also reach Mumbai to assist Asif in the case.

However, if Asif is proved guilty, the fast bowler faces a possible two-year ban from international cricket as the IPL is sanctioned by the ICC and any ban would automatically be adopted by the Pakistan Cricket Board as well.

Asif said he was confident that the discrepancy in the quantity of banned drug will help him.

''I am confident of getting out of this mess and both my lawyer and medical experts who are both with me, are confident that we can fight this case and come out clean,'' said Asif.

''The last few months have been upsetting and I want to put them behind,'' he added.

The IPL's drugs tribunal is comprised of former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, Dr Ravi Bapat (ex-Vice Chancellor of Maharashtra University of Health Sciences) and lawyer Shirish Gupte.

The tribunal will study the issue and take a decision in accordance with the ICC's anti-doping code.

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