Pakistan pace duo Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammed Asif were sent home in disgrace from the ICC Champios Trophy today after testing positive for the banned steroid nandrolone. Both cricketers face bans upto two years if a second test confirms the positive result.
The shocked news of failed drugs tests for two of the nation’s best-known cricketers comes after a turbulent couple of months for Pakistan folowing The Oval ball-tampering fiasco, board upheaval and the resignation and re-appointment of Younis Khan as stand-in captain.
Shoaib and Asif will face an inquiry from the PCB after returning home and under International Cricket Council (ICC) anti-doping regulations could be banned for two-years for a first violation. Akhtar said he had always played the game fair and given 100 percent and never felt the need to take any drugs to help his bowling.
The PCB tested 19 players three weeks ago through a Malaysian laboratory. The two players concerned, both of whom have recently recovered from injury, returned positive samples. The board are now awaiting confirmation of the results from ’B’ samples, which is expected tomorrow.
The players are two of Pakistan’s most potent weapons and both made a huge impact towards the end of this summer’s tour of England after finally regaining fitness. Shoaib has been troubled for most of the year by knee and ankle problems while Asif missed the start of the Test series against England with an elbow injury.
The players could face lengthy bans but as the tests were conducted by the PCB, they come outside the jurisdiction of the International Cricket Council, who could levy heavy bans under the World Anti-Doping Agency’s code.
Drugs in sport have become a huge issue but cricket has in the past been considered relatively clean. The Australian spinner Shane Warne was banned for a year in 2003 for testing positive for two separate diuretics, hydrochlorothiazide and amiloride.
So what is nandrolone and why it is taken?
Nandrolone mimics naturally-occurring steroids that act in a similar way to the hormone testosterone. Testosterone is a male sex hormone that is produced by the testes. It is also found in women in small quantities and is produced by the ovaries and the adrenal gland.
Competitors use anabolic steroids like nandrolone to improve sporting performance, and in particular to:-
a) aid recovery from injuries
b) increase muscle size, strength and power
c) train harder and for longer
d) increase aggression and competitiveness