September 07, 2007	Friday	Sha'aban 24, 1428

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 6: Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has described the doping scandal that engulfed him last year as the worst time of his life and hit out at the disciplinary committee that initially found him guilty.

The paceman, nicknamed ‘Rawalpindi Express’, and fellow paceman Mohammad Asif tested positive for the banned steroid nandrolone in internal testing by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) before the ICC Champions Trophy last October. A PCB disciplinary committee banned Shoaib for two years and Asif for one year. The ban was overturned on appeal, however, as the committee had used the World Anti-Doping Agency Code (WADA) regulations instead of PCB’s own anti-doping policy, which allows for ignorance of the law to be used as a defence.

“The doping matter was pretty serious and a big setback for my entire life,” Shoaib said on Thursday. “It was not easy to cope with. It’s difficult when you get into trouble,” he said. “If I do it, then it is a problem, but if anyone else does it, they don’t get into trouble.”

WADA lodged an appeal against the ruling with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which found in July it did not have jurisdiction in the matter as neither the PCB nor the International Cricket Council provided for a right of appeal to the CAS.

“The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has helped, it was not their fault the case went wrong,” said Shoaib, in South Africa for the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship. “The disciplinary committee turned out to be the main culprit.”

The 32-year-old also strongly criticised rules changes in the game, saying they have deprived fans of the joy of watching fast bowling.

“Cricket should be about fast bowlers, not batsmen,” he expressed.—Reuters