Asif and Akhtar Positive for doping!

[MWaugh]

no he didnt, i think it was because he felt it was in the best interest of the team (at world cup time and everything). he was initially going to however after discussing it with the then ACB they opted not to

 

[apesnani]

oh here is something for all of you comparing Shane Warne situation

A disappointed Warne initially considered appealing, but decided against it, as several people, including Pound, pointed out that the penalty could have been increased if an appeal was made.

no he didnt, i think it was because he felt it was in the best interest of the team (at world cup time and everything). he was initially going to however after discussing it with the then ACB they opted not to

OK i jsut posted this , dont make Warne look like a saint. I post this again

A disappointed Warne initially considered appealing, but decided against it, as several people, including Pound, pointed out that the penalty could have been increased if an appeal was made.

Best interest of the team, I find it funny people here are comparing this to the Warne issue without knowing the facts. Shane Warne did not appeal these guys did, two completelt different scenarios. Warne realized he got off lightly and felt had no defesne , these guys felt differently fought and won.

 

[jeromedascorp]

I see this as a new chapter in Pakistan cricket. Maybe pakistan will finally have a set of fast bowlers who dont wanna act like they r better than anyone. Maybe thats why Yousuf is at the top of his game. He still hasnt said that he is the best batsman in the pakistan team.

I think all the youngsters can learn from the events over the last few months in Pak cricket. Someone should make a handbook. "The DOs and DONTs of International cricket"

 

[rickyp]

so they won? do you think they are innocent? because honestly, thats they only way they should of been able to get off with an appeal

 

[apesnani]

so they won? do you think they are innocent? because honestly, thats they only way they should of been able to get off with an appeal

They won their defense.

 

[rickyp]

you dont honestly think they deserved no punishment do you

 

[ZoraxDoom]

The players' lawyers also argued that scientific evidence surrounding Nandrolone suggested it could be produced endogenously (internally by the body). The committee argued that there was as much evidence to refute this as to support it and so they were not "persuaded by the defence that Shoaib Akhtar's positive test was caused due to endogenous production on account of his diet and exercise regime."

But the committee did acknowledge that there existed cases globally which showed that nutritional supplements were contaminated with banned substances. Citing several cases, including that of Greg Rusedski, the tennis player, the committee found "sufficient material has been brought before this committee to conclude that nutritional supplements used by Shoaib and Asif, which we may add are well-known branded supplements readily available in the open market, could have contained an undeclared prohibited substance that resulted in their positive test."

Make of this what you want.

@Adarsh: No, you need experience to ask. He doesn't have. You need a PHD to know what Nanldrone is, he doesn't have one.
Honestly, how many here Asif's age and younger knew what Nanldrone was before this incident? I don't.
And how many of you would occur to ask your local doctor waht's in a cold medicine if you got sick before a big race? None. You take the medicine, and then get banned.
And these medicines they took could have had an undeclared substance, which -and correct me if I am wrong- is a substance that is either not on the label or not banned. I'm not sure.

http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/pakistan/content/current/story/271347.html

The committee makes it abundantly clear that neither Shoaib nor Asif were ever warned or cautioned against taking supplements by the PCB, whose responsibility it was to do so. "The vast record of proceedings establishes that the players were never advised against taking supplements, nor were they even provided with any local or international publications warning them against the use of supplements."

This is the final word. The PCB carried out the tests, but ended up giving drugs to their own players without telling them. True, they should have known, especially Akhtar. But they gave the drugs, and they failed to tell the players so, and then they carried the tests and found the players drugged. So it's all their fault. IF the ICC carried out these tests, then Akhtar and Asif would stay banned. But no. The PCB -the druggers of the players- carried the tests. They got the players drugged and then banned them. That's stupid. That's wrong. Shame on you PCB. That's why Asif and Akhtar can play until the next time.
I know it seems unfair and a loophole, but thats idiocity for you.
Shame on you PCB.

Case closed.

 

[apesnani]

you dont honestly think they deserved no punishment do you

I never said that , but what I said going by the rules and regulations thise case HAS to be judged (PCB Anti Doping) you cant punish them. This reminds of Greg Rusedski, the problem was the rules they had in front of them he could not be punished.

 

[barmyarmy]

Well it's good to have some divergent opinions in this thread and, even though I don't agree with you, thank you apesnani for putting your arguement without resorting to flaming.
My problem with this case is that any international sportsman knows they're not allowed to use drugs without their national board producing exhaustive guidelines. The PCB can't clear its own players on the ground it didn't tell them they couldn't as the precedent it sets is horrendous.
What's to stop another national board doing the same? Ignoring drug cheats (and encouraging them) on the grounds they haven't told them the substance was banned?

 

[sohum]

We're going to taunt them more then anyone before them,
and the best thing is, they know we will do just that,
so I won't be suprised if those players are a no-show.
Murali got it bad, Akhtar's gonna get it even worse.

Speculation.

I also have a feeling that as a fast bowler, Akthar's mentality will be far different from Murali's.

Well it's good to have some divergent opinions in this thread and, even though I don't agree with you, thank you apesnani for putting your arguement without resorting to flaming.
My problem with this case is that any international sportsman knows they're not allowed to use drugs without their national board producing exhaustive guidelines. The PCB can't clear its own players on the ground it didn't tell them they couldn't as the precedent it sets is horrendous.
What's to stop another national board doing the same? Ignoring drug cheats (and encouraging them) on the grounds they haven't told them the substance was banned?

Wasn't this an occasion of the PCB guidelines not being foolproof? I think the ICC needs to put two measures in place, regardless of how they deal with this issue:

1. Review the guidelines regarding drug policy for each national board. It is not their job to make sure everything is done, but since this is something that affects the global cricketing scenario, they should have a look-in to make sure there isn't a gap from the PCB to the ICC guidelines (which there seems to be).

2. Incorporate random drug testing in ALL tours. This will encourage all boards to make sure their players are clean, and will prevent opportunities such as the ICC-CT scandal occurring again. What sense does it make if players are tested only at the major tournaments? I would actually be pretty surprised if this measure wasn't already in place.

As for the ban-lifting issue, I don't think the ICC can technically ban a player unless they conducted their own test. I am not sure how their guidelines are written regarding that and I am too lazy to dig through them. I feel there must be arrangements with labs and testing centers that have been certified with the ICC, to reduce the effect of random error. It's a difficult situation because someone will have to take the hard line.

Pakistan didn't because they have a lot at stake and they had the opportunity to escape unscathed, through the loophole. Lettuce see how the ICC reacts.

 

[angryangy]

Pretty ridiculous really, but at the same time I think the concern over drugs in cricket needn't be as high as in some other sports. It's a mental game, to paraphrase Steve Waugh and things that enhance the physical like steroids shouldn't smear the game like they do baseball, for example.

 

[Eddie]

well i am off to commit armed robbery on a bank.

I already have my fool-proof defense..

"I didn't know it was illegal"

I am sure to avoid punishment with that cast-iron defense! :

 

[anandbatra]

There should be a daily soap made on Pakistan Cricket. It'll get the max TRP. Captaincy issues, Inzigate, drug scandals, players pushing coaches. I still remember the Younis/Yousuf captaincy switch. I saw on TV at night that Younis was made captain. When I got up the next morning, Yousuf had been made captain. By evening, Yousuf was sacked and Younis was made captain again. Then Sharyar Khan resigned.

This was too much even for the poor news reader. She got confused with Younis/Yousuf. )

 

[nightprowler10]

But you still watch Shane Warne with awe ?

Nope, can't stand the bloke. Not just because of the drug thing either. And why would you assume that I even watch Warne?

I'm liking this thread more and more. Like BA, I appreciate the fact that very few people have resorted to flaming. It makes for a good reading.

Pretty ridiculous really, but at the same time I think the concern over drugs in cricket needn't be as high as in some other sports. It's a mental game, to paraphrase Steve Waugh and things that enhance the physical like steroids shouldn't smear the game like they do baseball, for example.

Steroids can be very helpful in cricket for bowlers who want to come back from injury ASAP. Warne came back twice as fast as he should've from his shoulder injury, the Pakistani duo IMO also took those steroids so that they could assist the team in England. As I've said before, I don't have a doubt in my mind that the PCB were pressuring those two to heal faster.

The way I see it, this is a bit like the O.J Simpson case, everybody knows they did it, but they got off on a technicality.

 

[Gunner786]

Another thing i just found out

The supplements they both took are WADA approved so how is it that they are WADA approved and on the ICC ban list?

These 2 really need to compare each others rules,