M A I N   N E W S

Shoaib, Asif in dope net
Withdrawn from Champions Trophy

Karachi/Jaipur, October 16
Pakistan cricket plunged into another scandal today with its spearhead fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif testing positive for a banned drug after which they were recalled home from Jaipur and now face the risk of being banned for two years.

The star bowlers, who tested positive for anabolic steroid nandrolone in an internal test conducted by the Pakistan Cricket Board last month, were withdrawn from the high-profile Champions Trophy once the positive results were announced this morning.

Both the A and B samples of the bowlers showed traces of the performance-enhancing drug and the PCB promptly decided to set up a committee to look into the scandal and recommend disciplinary action.

The positive results, which the PCB received yesterday from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accredited lab in Kuala Lumpur, were revealed just a day before Pakistan were to play their opening Champions Trophy match against Sri Lanka in Jaipur.

PCB Chairman Nasim Ashraf said it was the first ever instance of a Pakistani player testing positive for a banned drug and it was taking the matter very seriously. “We are taking this issue very seriously. It is the first time that our players have been found positive and we will take action accordingly,” he said at a press conference in Islamabad.

Shoaib and Asif both face a possible two-year ban from the game under the ICC anti-doping policy for a first time offence.

However, ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed said the games’ governing body did not come into the picture as the PCB had conducted the tests on its own under the WADA protocol.

The ICC also approved the selection of left-arm spinner Abdul Rehman and all-rounder Yasir Arafat as replacements for the two players.

The tainted fast bowlers flew back home by an evening flight to Lahore while their replacements would be in a position to play in Pakistan’s second match in Mohali on October 25.

Shoaib, on his part, said he was innocent and had not taken any drug knowingly. “I cannot say much at this time about what has happened but I just want to assure everyone that I am innocent of doing anything I shouldn’t have,” the star bowler said.

“The President of Pakistan has asked me not to comment in any detail at this stage and I want to respect his wishes,” he said in a short message posted on a cricket portal.

This is the second major dope scandal to hit international cricket after Australian spin great Shane Warne tested positive for a diuretic just before the start of the 2003 World Cup. — PTI

Ordinance to benefit DD cricket viewers
Anita Katyal
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 16
Having missed out on the ongoing ICC Championship series, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry is making sure that Doordarshan viewers get to enjoy next year’s World Cup cricketing bonanza being held in the West Indies.

The Centre is planning to promulgate an ordinance making it mandatory for the sports channels to share the feed of nationally important sporting events with Prasar Bharati. This will facilitate the telecast of the World Cup series on Doordarshan.

The ordinance is likely to come up at next Cabinet meeting this Thursday or the following one next week.

The Centre is keen on bringing this ordinance well before the winter session of Parliament which is slated for November 22 or 27.

UPA sources revealed that the date of the session will be finalised after the Cabinet clears some vital ordinances. The Cabinet today approved an ordinance amending the Indian Telegraph Act providing funds to mobile service providers for setting up telecom services in rural areas.

The proposed ordinance on sporting events is intended to resolve the ongoing feud between the Information and Broadcasting Ministry and Ten Sports, which began when private sports channel got exclusive rights to telecast the India-Pakistan and the India-West Indies series earlier this year. The channel had refused to share the feed with Doordarshan on the plea that it would suffer huge losses if there was simultaneous telecast on the national broadcaster. A one-time agreement was arrived at by both parties for the highly popular India-Pakistan series.