Intikhab appointed to doping tribunal

KARACHI, Oct 18 (Reuters) Former test captain Intikhab Alam and lawyer Shahid Hamid have been appointed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to a tribunal for strike bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif after their positive tests for the steroid nandrolone.

''We will also name a specialist doctor on the committee which will decide the case and give its recommendations in two weeks' time,'' PCB chairman Naseem Ashraf told reporters today.

Hamid represented former Pakistan captain Salim Malik on match-fixing charges.

Shoaib and Asif, who were sent home from the Champions Trophy in India on Monday, could be banned for two years if their B samples are also positive.

Ashraf said the players could appear before the tribunal next week.

''We ourselves want to reach a quick and logical conclusion to this issue,'' he said.

''We will show them the evidence report we have got from WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency). They will be given a full chance to defend themselves and prove their innocence.

''The tribunal will decide what punishment should be handed out to them or if they are innocent. This is an internal matter of the board and not the International Cricket Council.'' Ashraf, who is himself a doctor, said both players had denied ever knowingly taking performance-enhancing drugs.

REUTERS PKS BST2258