December 14, 2006	Thursday	Ziqa'ad 22, 1427

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LAHORE, Dec 13: Pakistan cricket chief Dr Nasim Ashraf says his board did not influence an appeals committee to lift the doping bans on fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif last week.

“I swear to God that we did not have any wrong intentions,” the chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board’s ad hoc committee said on Wednesday.

A PCB doping appellate tribunal last month banned Shoaib for two years and Asif for one year after both tested positive for the banned steroid nandrolone — a decision reversed by the PCB's appeals committee.

“The PCB had adopted a transparent way and carried out the tests in a transparent manner,” Dr Nasim said.

“PCB rules applied to whatever were the results (of the tests),” he said. “If this had happened in any other country that country's rules would have applied on it.”

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) last week expressed reservations over the decision to drop the bans, with chairman Dick Pound criticising the practice of “a national federation telling the international federation what rules it is going to apply in something like doping.”

Dr Nasim maintained it was purely under the PCB's jurisdiction.

“The matter is over. It's Pakistan's internal matter,” he insisted.

Dr Nasim lost his patience when asked why there was so much difference in the findings of the PCB's two tribunals.

“If you have feelings like this then keep on carrying it, I don't have any answer to this,” he said angrily.

Pakistan is scheduled to tour South Africa next month, but Dr Nasim said Shoaib and Asif must prove their fitness before making the team.

“We have talked to both the players. It will depend on their fitness,” he said.

The PCB withdrew Shoaib and Asif a day before Pakistan were due to play their opening match in the ICC Champions Trophy in India last October. The pair returned their positive samples during internal doping tests conducted by the board in Pakistan.

The bans capped a torrid few months for the Pakistan team, which was forced to forfeit the final Test against England at The Oval last August when the side refused to take the field after it was accused of ball tampering – charges it was later cleared of.

Regular captain Inzamam-ul-Haq was subsequently banned for four One-day Internationals on charges of bringing the game into disrepute.—AP