Shoaib, Asif may be innocent, reiterates PCB Tribunal member

Lahore, Oct 25 (UNI) Member of the three-man PCB tribunal probing into the doping scandal, Dr Waqar Ahmed once again gave a benefit of doubt to the tainted pace duo of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif and reiterated that the bowlers may have consumed nandrolone unwittingly.

In an interview to Voice Of America (VOA), Dr Ahmed explained that the two bowlers could have consumed the banned substance in the form of health supplements unknowingly.

Shoaib and Asif tested positive for banned nandrolone in dope tests conducted by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and had to be pulled out of the ongoing Champions Trophy in India.

Dr Waqar had earlier said the PCB Tribunal could pardon Shoaib and Asif if both proved that they took the banned substance by accident.

''In accidental use, I would like to talk about Charas (Cannabis) If we are sitting in a closed room and some one is smoking Charas, the person sitting next to the smoker may inhale some amount of substance that may result positive in the urine sample,'' Dr Waqar said.

When told that Shoaib and Asif had tested positive for Nandrolone and not Charas, Dr Waqar said, ''But there are many supplements used by athletes all over the world to restore energy and some times these supplements carry banned substances that athletes don't know about. Moreover, this substance is also produced within the bodies itself, so the PCB Tribunal has to be convinced if Shoaib and Asif used the drugs by accident to forgive them.'' However the clause 3.1.1 of the Anti-Doping Code of the ICC, that the PCB is a signatory to, suggests other wise.

It says the onus lays with the cricketer to ensure that no banned substance goes into his body.

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