By Sarah Smithon Tuesday, 17 Oct 2006 The troubled Pakistani cricket team has suffered another blow after it was revealed that two star players had tested positive for a banned steroid.
Fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif tested positive for nandrolone, a banned performance enhancing drug, during a test conducted by the Pakistan Cricket Board last month.
The news came on the eve of its first Champions Trophy match against Sri Lanka in Jaipur.
Akhtar defended himself by saying he had done nothing wrong, but critics accused him of being childish - players are rigorously briefed on which drugs are banned.
The incident will add to Pakistan's problems in the wake of ball-tampering accusations in August at the Oval in London.
At that time, the team's captain, Inzamam-ul-Haq was accused of cheating by umpire Darrel Hair but later cleared of the charge.
However, he was banned for four matches because he refused to lead his team back out onto the pitch the same day.
|
Bingo
