Charges against Asif 'pretty conclusive'

A three-man board committee looking into Mohammad Asif's detention in Dubai in June, for allegedly possessing drugs, has completed its report. One PCB official told Cricinfo the findings were "pretty conclusive".

The report has been sent to Nasim Ashraf, the PCB chairman, but as he is currently away on a break, no final decision is expected until he returns during the middle of the month.

The official told Cricinfo a ban has been recommended, though he was unwilling to delve into any details about its duration. It is likely the ban will be for a number of matches.

"The evidence and reports we received were pretty conclusive about the charges," the official said. "A central clause of the player's central contract has been violated so a ban for a certain number of matches is likely."

The committee, which consists of Shafqat Naghmi, Zakir Khan and Nadeem Akram, had been formed when Asif finally returned to Pakistan, after 19 days at Dubai airport's detention centre. They initially faced a delay as they waited on legal documents from Dubai but have since interviewed and heard Asif's side of the story.

Asif is also embroiled in a separate doping mess, after he tested positive for a banned substance during tests conducted while he was playing for the Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Asif was scheduled to go to Switzerland for the B sample test but the trip has been postponed owing to visa delays. Asif was meant to be there on August 6th but is now likely to be delayed by a couple of days. The IPL had set up a three-member tribunal to look into Asif's results, and the PCB suspended him from all forms of the game pending the results of the IPL inquiry.

The fast bowler previously tested positive for nandrolone, the banned anabolic steroid, along with Shoaib Akhtar, just before the 2006 Champions Trophy in India. Though he was banned for one year by a tribunal, the punishment was overturned a month later on appeal.