Asif must prove he wasn't deported from the UAE - PCB

Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif has yet to prove to a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) committee that he was not deported from Dubai last year for possessing opium. Asif is currently serving a one-year ban after testing positive to the banned substance nandrolone last year.

The PCB plans to consider Asif for national selection once his ban is over, but formed a three-man committee to investigate his UAE detention. Former Pakistan wicketkeeper and now the PCB's director of human resources Wasim Bari, also the head of the committee, said Asif claimed during an inquiry that he wasn't deported.

"Asif told us verbally that he can enter the UAE, but we need a document to back up his claim," Bari told the Associated Press. "We want to give him time to prove it otherwise. We want to give Asif as much time as we can. If he fails to submit the required letter by the first week of next month, we will submit our findings to the PCB."

Asif was stopped at Dubai Airport on June 1 after being caught with 0.24 grams of opium on his way back to Pakistan after playing in the IPL. He was detained for 19 days before eventually being deported. Documents from the Dubai public prosecutor leaked to the press confirmed the identity of the substance Asif was found with and also that he admitted to using it, though he denied that it was opium. On the recommendation of the public prosecutor, the attorney general deported Asif, which means he can never return to the country.

Bari said he will submit his findings after the current series between Pakistan and Australia in the UAE ends on May 7.