Mohammad Asif (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Pakistani national cricket team The Pakistan national cricket team or Pak cricket team, often referred to as the Shaheens (), Green Shirts, Men in Green and Cornered Tigers is administered by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The team is a Full Member of the International C ...

between 2005 and 2010. Asif was born in

Sheikhupura Sheikhupura ( pa, ; ur, ) also known as Qila Sheikhupura, is a city in the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. Founded by the Mughal Empire, Mughal Emperor Jahangir, Jehangir in 1607, Sheikhupura is the List of most populous citie ...

, and has played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

for Khan Research Labs, the National Bank, Quetta, Sheikhupura,

Sialkot Sialkot ( ur, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of Sialkot District and the 13th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined with Jammu (the winter capital of Indian administered Jammu and Ka ...

and

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

. He made his

Test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

debut for the

Pakistan cricket team The Pakistan national cricket team or Pak cricket team, often referred to as the Shaheens (), Green Shirts, Men in Green and Cornered Tigers is administered by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The team is a Full Member of the International ...

against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in January 2005. In 2010, Asif was ranked second leading Test bowler, just behind

Dale Steyn Dale Willem Steyn (; born 27 June 1983) is a South African former professional cricketer who played for the South African Cricket Team. He is often regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time and the best Test bowler of his generat ...

. In 2006, Asif was involved in controversy after he tested positive for

anabolic steroid Anabolic steroids, also known more properly as anabolic–androgenic steroids (AAS), are steroidal androgens that include natural androgens like testosterone (medication), testosterone as well as synthetic androgens that are structurally related ...

Nandrolone Nandrolone, also known as 19-nortestosterone, is an androgen and anabolic steroid (AAS) which is used in the form of esters such as nandrolone decanoate (brand name Deca-Durabolin) and nandrolone phenylpropionate (brand name Durabolin). Nandrolon ...

, leading to the imposition of a ban which was later overturned on appeal. He was later withdrawn from Pakistan's World Cup squad with an unrelated injury. Further cricket controversy followed when he was detained in Dubai suspected of having drugs on his person and was then found to have tested positive for a banned substance during the

Indian Premier League The Indian Premier League (IPL), also known as TATA IPL for sponsorship reasons, is a men's T20 franchise cricket league of India. It is annually contested by ten teams based out of seven Indian cities and three Indian states. The leagu ...

. In August 2010 he was accused by the

News of the World The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national Tabloid journalism#Red tops, red top Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling En ...

of deliberately bowling no-balls in return for payment from a betting syndicate. On 5 February 2011 a 3-man tribunal, appointed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) gave the verdict that he was to be banned for 7 years, with 2 of those suspended if no further offences were committed. In November 2011, Asif was convicted, along with

Salman Butt Salman Butt (, born 7 October 1984) is a former Pakistani cricketer and captain who played for Pakistan national cricket team between 2003 and 2010, before getting banned for five years for his involvement in 2010 spot-fixing scandal. He had ...

and

Mohammad Amir Mohammad Amir ( ur, ; born 13 April 1992) is a Pakistani cricketer and bowler for the Pakistan national cricket team. He is playing as a left-arm fast-medium bowler and uses his left hand when batting. Amir made his first-class debut in N ...

, of conspiracy charges relating to

spot-fixing Spot-fixing is illegal activity in a sport in which a specific aspect of a game, unrelated to the final result but upon which a betting market exists, is fixed in an attempt to ensure a certain result in a proposition bet. Examples include someth ...

. On 3 November 2011, Asif was given a one-year prison sentence for his role in the scandal. On 19 August 2015, the ICC suspended its previous orders and allowed Asif to play all formats of the game, effective as of 2 September 2015. He played in his first match after the ban when he represented

Water and Power Development Authority The Pakistan Water & Power Development Authority (WAPDA; ur, ) is a government-owned public utility maintaining power and water in Pakistan, although it does not manage thermal power. WAPDA includes Tarbela and Mangla dams among its resources. ...

in the third round of the 2016–17 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy in October 2016.

Personal life

Public and media reports in Pakistan surfaced that Asif had married Pakistani actress and model Veena Malik, on 28 May 2009, in a private ceremony in London. However it was denied later that the marriage had taken place. In April 2010,

Veena Malik The ''veena'', also spelled ''vina'' ( sa, वीणा IAST: vīṇā), comprises various chordophone instruments from the Indian subcontinent. Ancient musical instruments evolved into many variations, such as lutes, zithers and arched harps.< ...

filed a complaint against Asif claiming that he threatened to harm her if she did not stop pursuing her demand that he return the loan of around Rs 14 million he had taken from her. Later, she served a legal notice on Asif, after two cheques he gave her to settle the outstanding amount were bounced. On 2 March 2010, Asif announced his engagement to Sania Hilal in Lahore. The couple wed on 1 October 2010, and Asif was reported as stating that he hoped marriage would change his life in a positive way. Attendees included Pakistan Test cricket captain

Misbah-ul-Haq ; born 28 May 1974) is a former Pakistani cricket coach and former international cricketer. Misbah captained Pakistan in all formats and is former head coach and former chief selector of the Pakistan national team. A late bloomer, Misbah was a midd ...

and

Younis Khan Mohammad Younis Khan PP SI (Urdu: ; Pashto: ; born 29 November 1977) is a Pakistani professional cricket coach and former cricketer and captain of the Pakistan national cricket team in all three formats of the game, and is widely regarded as ...

Bowling style

A right hand medium fast bowler with a smooth action and short run up. Asif was able to swing the ball both ways without much change in his bowling action. He also would be able to create sharp seam movement which he was able to do by alternation off fingers whilst releasing the ball. He was able to confuse batsmen as to which way the ball would move and would use his skills to a devastating effect. He was regarded by several batsman as one of the toughest fast bowler ever faced. Great batsmen such as:

AB de Villiers Abraham Benjamin de Villiers (born 17 February 1984) is a former South African international cricketer. AB de Villiers was named as the ICC ODI Player of the Year three times during his 15-year international career and was one of the five Wi ...

Kevin Pietersen Kevin Peter Pietersen (born 27 June 1980) is a cricket commentator, conservationist, and former England international cricket player. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional off spin bowler who played in all three formats for England betw ...

and

Hashim Amla Hashim Mahomed Amla OIS (born 31 March 1983) is a South African former international cricketer who played for South Africa in all three formats of the game. Amla holds the record for being the fastest ever to score 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000 ...

have regarded him amongst their toughest bowlers ever faced. England pace bowler

James Anderson James Anderson may refer to: Arts *James Anderson (American actor) (1921–1969), American actor *James Anderson (author) (1936–2007), British mystery writer *James Anderson (English actor) (born 1980), British actor * James Anderson (filmmaker) ...

complimented Asif as key to his development of his seam movement, saying he watched Asif bowl his "Wobble Seam" method.

Cricket career

After impressing in domestic Pakistani cricket, Asif was fast tracked into the Pakistan test squad and made his first appearance against Australia in January 2005. He bowled 18 overs without taking a wicket and Australia won by 9 wickets. Asif was subsequently dropped from the side but he returned a year later in January 2006 for the home tour against India. In the second Test, Asif bowled 34 overs and took the wicket of Indian cricketer

Yuvraj Singh Yuvraj Singh (born 12 December 1981) is a former Indian international cricketer who played in all formats of the game. He is an all-rounder who batted left-handed in the middle order and bowled slow left-arm orthodox . He has won 7 Player of ...

. It was the third Test in Karachi, however, where Asif would make headlines. After a poor batting display by Pakistan, Asif took 4 for 78 in the first innings, including the

wicket In cricket, the term wicket has several meanings: * It is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch. The fielding team's players can hit the wicket with the ball in a number of ways to get a batsman out. ...

s of V. V. S. Laxman,

Rahul Dravid Rahul Sharad Dravid (; born 11 January 1973) is an Indian cricket coach and former captain of the Indian national team, currently serving as its head coach. Prior to his appointment to the senior men's national team, Dravid was the Head of ...

and, once again, Yuvraj Singh, to help Pakistan take a six-run lead. Asif returned in the second innings with three

clean bowled In cricket, the term bowled has several meanings. First, is the act of propelling the ball towards the wicket defended by a batsman. Second, it is a method of dismissing a batsman, by hitting the wicket with a ball delivered by the bowler. (Th ...

s of

Virender Sehwag Virender Sehwag (born 20 October 1978) is a former Indian cricketer who represented India from 1999 to 2013. Widely regarded as one of the most destructive opener, he played for Delhi Capitals in IPL and Delhi and Haryana in Indian domestic c ...

, Laxman, and

Sachin Tendulkar Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (; ; born 24 April 1973) is an Indian former international cricketer who captained the Indian national team. He is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the all time highest run-scor ...

to lead Pakistan to victory. His series against the Indians was blighted by a fine imposed by match referee Chris Broad for over-appealing and premature celebration of a wicket. The ODI series that followed this Pakistan lost 4–1 to India. Asif followed up his match-winning efforts against India in Pakistan's next tour in Sri Lanka, where he took a career-best 11 for 70 in the 2nd Test, in another come-from-behind victory. In November 2005,

announced the signing of Asif for the 2006 season after he had played a game for their second XI in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

. Leicestershire's chairman Neil Davidson described him as a "bowler with the ability to generate great pace". Asif did relatively well picking up 25 wickets in 7 first-class games before leaving to join the Pakistan squad for their tour of England. Asif was due to line up again with Leicestershire for the 2007 season but due to injury problems was asked not to play by the PCB. Asif missed the first three Tests in Pakistan's tour to England in the summer of 2006, but returned to the side for the fourth Test and immediately made an impact, picking up four wickets (Andrew Strauss,

Alastair Cook Sir Alastair Nathan Cook (born 25 December 1984) is an English cricketer who plays for Essex County Cricket Club, and played for England in all international formats from 2006 to 2018. A former captain of the England Test and One-Day Intern ...

Paul Collingwood Paul David Collingwood (born 26 May 1976) is an English cricket coach and former player, who played in all three formats of the game internationally for England. He played for Durham County Cricket Club and was the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 win ...

and

) in the first innings at the Oval, and another in the second (

Marcus Trescothick Marcus Edward Trescothick (born 25 December 1975) is an English former cricketer who played first-class cricket for Somerset County Cricket Club, and represented England in 76 Test matches and 123 One Day Internationals. He became the first bowler to bowl a maiden over in Twenty20 cricket. Additionally, he picked up two wickets during the over, with the first being

for a golden duck and the second being

Andrew Strauss Sir Andrew John Strauss (born 2 March 1977) is an English cricket administrator and former player, formerly the Director of Cricket for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). He played county cricket for Middlesex, and captained the Engla ...

, also without scoring.

remembers Asif's spell and recently in talking with Twitter wrote " I think there’s plenty batters around the world that were happy he got banned! He was the best I faced! I had no idea against him!" Asif claimed 19 wickets abroad in Pakistan's test series against South Africa in 2007. This feat lifted him to eighth in the LG ICC Test player rankings after only nine appearances – equalling the record for the fewest matches taken by a Pakistan bowler to reach the top 10, shared by

Waqar Younis Waqar Younis Maitla HI ( Punjabi, ur, ; born 16 November 1971) is a Pakistani cricket coach, commentator and former cricketer who captained Pakistan national cricket team. A right-arm fast bowler, Waqar Younis is regarded as one of the grea ...

and

Pervez Sajjad Pervez Sajjad Hasan (Urdu: پرویز سجاد حسن; born 30 August 1942, Lahore, Punjab) is a former Pakistani cricketer who played in 19 Tests from 1964 to 1973. Family He was one of seven brothers. One of his brothers was the Pakistan Test ...

. His spell was of 5 for 76 named as the third-best Test bowling performance of the year by ESPNCricinfo voters. Following the 2–1 test series loss against South Africa, Pakistan captain

Inzamam-Ul-Haq Inzamam-ul-Haq SI ( ur, ; born 3 March 1970), also known as Inzi, is a former Pakistan cricketer and captain of Pakistan national cricket team. He was also professional cricket coach for Pakistan. He was the leading run scorer for Pakistan i ...

praised Asif's performance, "Asif has immaculate length control and a natural ability to swing the ball both ways. He is also quick to spot a weakness in batsmen and work on it." Pakistan coach

Bob Woolmer Robert Andrew Woolmer (14 May 1948 – 18 March 2007) was an English cricket coach, cricketer, and a commentator. He played in 19 Test matches and six One Day Internationals for the England cricket team and later coached South Africa, Warwick ...

added, "He

sif In Norse mythology, Sif (Old Norse: ) is a golden-haired goddess associated with earth. Sif is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the ''Prose Edda'', written in the 13th century ...

is a modern-day fast bowler based on the likes of haun

Pollock Pollock or pollack (pronounced ) is the common name used for either of the two species of North Atlantic marine fish in the genus ''Pollachius''. ''Pollachius pollachius'' is referred to as pollock in North America, Ireland and the United Kingd ...

and lenn

McGrath McGrath or MacGrath derives from the Irish surname Mac Craith and is occasionally noted with a space: e.g. Izzy Mc Grath. In Ireland, it is pronounced "Ma Grah". In Australia and New Zealand it is pronounced ''MuhGrah''. Notable people with the su ...

. He gives you control and has the ability to hit the seam and make the ball move both ways. In Pakistan terms he is more

Sarfraz Nawaz Sarfraz Nawaz Malik ( Punjabi, ur, ) (born 1 December 1948) is a former Pakistani Test cricketer and politician, who was instrumental in Pakistan's first Test series victories over India and England. Between 1969 and 1984, he played 55 Tests a ...

than

Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...

. For his performances in 2007, he was named in the World Test XI by ICC Former Pakistan captain

agreed with the assessment of Asif's progress, saying: "Asif is well on his way to become one of the greats. If he gains a little bit of pace through weight training he can be more lethal." In August 2007, he joined the Indian Premier League (IPL) He was subsequently drafted by the

Delhi DareDevils Delhi Capitals (formerly Delhi Daredevils) are a franchise cricket team based out of Delhi in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise is jointly owned by the GMR Group and the JSW Group. The team's home ground is Arun Jaitley Stadiu ...

for US$650,000. In the week before the 2007 Twenty20 world cup match in South Africa,

Shoaib Akhtar Shoaib Akhtar (; ; born 13 August 1975) is a Pakistani former cricketer and commentator. Nicknamed the "Rawalpindi Express", he was the first bowler to be recorded bowling at 100 miles per hour, a feat he achieved twice in his career. Ak ...

was rumoured to have hit Asif with a bat, leaving a bruise on his left thigh. According to sources, the two were involved in a dressing room spat which resulted in Asif being struck by a bat on his left thigh. Sources said the fight between the two started after Asif and

Shahid Afridi Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi ( ur, شاہد افریدی‎, ps, شاهد افریدی; born 1 March 1977), known as Shahid Afridi, is a Pakistani former cricketer and captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. He is current ...

disagreed with Shoaib that he shared the same stature as Imran Khan in Pakistan cricket and even ridiculed him for making such a comparison. The injury was not thought to be anything more serious than a bruise but a team investigation into the matter was pending. After the initial inquiry, it would found that Shoaib was at fault and he was subsequently recalled from the Twenty20 World Cup squad and was sent home. He was also banned for 5 matches by the PCB and a lifetime ban may also seem imminent. Akhtar later claimed that Afridi was responsible for the fight, saying "He made some ill remarks about my family. And I could not tolerate them" Afridi however, denied these allegations adding that Asif would have suffered more injuries but for his intervention. Even Asif chipped in saying that Shoaib was lying and that "Shahid Afridi had nothing to do with the fight." saying that "he has not apologised to me. " His spell of 4 for 18 was named as the second-best T20I bowling performance of the year by ESPNCricinfo voters. Conversely, Asif jointly holds the Test record with five consecutive

ducks Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

, an unfortunate honour he shares with

Bob Holland Robert George Holland (19 October 1946 – 17 September 2017) was a New South Wales and Australian cricketer. He was, because of his surname, nicknamed "Dutchy". Holland, who spent the majority of his cricketing life in Newcastle, was a late ...

and

Ajit Agarkar Ajit Bhalchandra Agarkar (born 4 December 1977) is a former Indian cricketer and a commentator. He has represented India in more than 200 international matches in all three formats of the game. He is the third highest wicket-taker for India i ...

Spot fixing scandal and seven-year ban (2010–2017)

In August 2010, the English Sunday newspaper ''

'' published allegations that Asif and fellow bowler

had deliberately bowled no-balls during Pakistan's 2010 tour of England in return for payment from a betting syndicate, a practice known as

. On 1 September 2010, after the warm-up

List A List A cricket is a classification of the limited-overs (one-day) form of the sport of cricket, with games lasting up to eight hours. List A cricket includes One Day International (ODI) matches and various domestic competitions in which the numbe ...

game between Pakistan and Somerset, the

International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are List of International Cricket Council members, 108 national associations, with 12 List of Internation ...

announced that they had suspended Asif under the provision of the provisions of the ICC's Anti-Corruption Code. The statement from the ICC stated that the three players (Asif,

and

) were charged "under various offences under Article 2 of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code for Players and Player Support Personnel relating to alleged irregular behaviour during, and in relation to, the fourth Test between England and Pakistan at Lord's last month". After filing his appeal against the suspension he withdrew it stating that he wanted the

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

investigation to be completed before he files an appeal against his ban as he knows what the charges levelled against him are In December

one of the three cricketers implicated along with Asif and Amir announced that he wanted his hearing to be delayed because he wanted the Scotland Yard investigation to be completed first. Asif and Amir stated they would not take part in the teleconference involving Butt for requesting the delay in the hearing because they wanted their decisions to happen quickly so that they could be selected in Pakistan's provisional world cup squad On 5 February 2011, the tribunal's decision was handed down. Asif was found guilty of deliberately bowling no-balls, and was banned from the sport of cricket for seven years, the last two of which were suspended should no further offences take place, and Asif take part in a Pakistani Cricket Board anti-corruption program. On 1 November 2011, Asif was convicted at

Southwark Crown Court The Crown Court at Southwark, commonly but inaccurately called Southwark Crown Court, is one of two locations of the Crown Court in the London SE1 postcode area, along with the Crown Court at Inner London. Opened in 1983, the brick building is ...

, along with Amir and Butt, of conspiracy to cheat at gambling and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments. On 3 May 2012, Asif completed his punishment and was released from

HM Prison Canterbury HMP Canterbury is a former prison in Canterbury, Kent, England. The prison was operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service. The former prison site was bought by Canterbury Christ Church University in April 2014. History The prison originated as a ...

, England.

Performance-enhancing drugs

On 16 October 2006, Asif was suspended by the

PCB PCB may refer to: Science and technology * Polychlorinated biphenyl, an organic chlorine compound, now recognized as an environmental toxin and classified as a persistent organic pollutant * Printed circuit board, a board used in electronics * ...

along with teammate

, and was pulled from the Champions Trophy after the pair failed

drug test A drug test is a technical analysis of a biological specimen, for example urine, hair, blood, breath, sweat, or oral fluid/saliva—to determine the presence or absence of specified parent drugs or their metabolites. Major applications of drug ...

s for the performance-enhancing substance

. England batsman

said the news had rocked cricket. Speaking on

BBC Radio Five Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcas ...

, he said: "When drugs are used in any sport it is not a great day for that sport and this not a great day for cricket." On 1 November 2006, the PCB handed down a two-year suspension to Shoaib Akhtar and a one-year suspension to Asif, banning them from professional cricket for the duration. Both Asif and Shoaib have been added to

Pakistan Olympic Association Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) or National Olympic Committee of Pakistan (NOC) ( ur, پاکستان اولمپک ایسوسی ایشن, acronym: POA) is the national olympic organization in Pakistan. It was established in 1948 to oversee the ...

list of doping offenders. The tribunal set to investigate steroid use revealed that Asif had been using a protein supplement, Promax-50. The panel had reported to have shown a degree of leniency to Asif as they believe that he did not understand what he was taking and stopped at the request of the physiotherapist. Both Akhtar and Asif appealed against the ban. A second tribunal was formed. On 5 December both were acquitted by the tribunal appointed to review their drug ban appeal. The decision was made two to one with Hasib Ahsan and Justice Fakhruddin Ebrahim in favour of the acquittal. Statement by Justice Ebrahim: "This appeal committee hereforeholds that Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif will not be deemed to have committed a doping offence," Ibrahim said. "The ban and punishment imposed by the earlier tribunal is hereby set aside as being contrary to the provision of laws." However, the WADA,

World Anti-Doping Agency The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA; french: Agence mondiale antidopage, AMA) is a foundation initiated by the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against drugs in sports. The agency's key ...

was unhappy with the decision and was to challenge the decision to lift the bans on the fast bowlers, and taking the case to the

Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; french: Tribunal arbitral du sport, ''TAS'') is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland and its co ...

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

, Switzerland. The ICC, cricket's world governing body, has supported the WADA appeal adding that it was committed to a dope free game. On 6 December 2006, Asif spoke out in his defence in an interview with the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

. When asked to explain the presence of

in his body, Asif cited a lack of awareness in Asian countries and said that he had taken some

vitamins A vitamin is an organic molecule (or a set of molecules closely related chemically, i.e. vitamers) that is an essential micronutrient that an organism needs in small quantities for the proper functioning of its metabolism. Essential nutrien ...

and

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...

supplements during the team's 2006 tour of England, which led to the problem. He also mentioned that medicines are easier to obtain in Pakistan, with little information available about the quality of the medicines. On 1 March 2007, Akhtar and Asif were ruled out of the Pakistani squad for the

2007 Cricket World Cup The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was the ninth Cricket World Cup, a One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament that took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007. There were a total of 51 matches played, three fewer than at the ...

by team officials, minutes before the squad was to depart for the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

. The team management along with the PCB said their injuries were too severe to risk taking them to the Caribbean. Since neither of the two had been declared fit they had not undergone official doping tests. However, Pakistani officials told cricket sources off the record that the team management had feared that they would fail the doping tests as it was likely traces of

were still present in their system. However, on 2 July 2007, the Court of Arbitration for Sport later dropped the case, ruling it had no jurisdiction to challenge the decision made by PCB. On 1 June 2008, Asif was detained at

Dubai International Airport Dubai International Airport ( ar, مطار دبي الدولي) is the primary international airport serving Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and is the world's busiest airport by international passenger traffic. It is also the nineteenth-busies ...

on suspicion of possessing illegal drugs. An unknown substance was found in Asif's wallet, and was sent for analysis along with a sample of Asif's urine. The PCB appointed a legal counsel to represent Asif, and sent a senior board official to Dubai to handle the case. Asif was withdrawn from Pakistan's squad for the upcoming tri-series in Bangladesh and replaced by newcomer

Sohail Khan ) Lambda Velorum (λ Velorum, abbreviated Lambda Vel, λ Vel), officially named Suhail , is a star in the Southern celestial hemisphere, southern constellation of Vela (constellation), Vela. With a mean apparent visual magnitude of 2.21, ...

. On 19 June 2008, the charges against Asif were dropped by the Dubai public prosecutor due to "insignificance." The prosecutor, Mohammad Al Nuaimi, was quoted as saying, "It is definite that he committed the crime as he was caught red-handed ... however in certain cases and for a faster litigation process the Public Prosecution drops a case due to insignificance and deports the suspect."He was banned from entering UAE ever again. Asif returned to Pakistan the following day and thanked those who had aided his release, he also stated, "I did not use any banned substance. During the Indian Premier League, I underwent two doping tests, and cleared both of them...If I had been tested positive, the ICC would not have cleared me." His alleged aiders include the Pakistani actress,

, who recently claimed that Asif has not returned her loan amounting to PKR 13 million, which was used for his release. In July 2008, soon after his return to Pakistan from Dubai, the IPL revealed that a player had tested positive for banned substances during the tournament and on 14 July, it was revealed that the player in question was Asif. Asif protested his innocence, and his lawyer announced that his 'B' sample would be analysed as per WADA regulations, and he was later suspended from all cricket indefinitely by the PCB. He does have the right to appeal his suspension. On 11 February 2009, the IPL confirmed that Asif had tested positive for steroids and subsequently imposed a one-year ban on him, ending on 21 September 2009. Shortly before the IPL's announcement, Asif was released of his contract by the

Film career

Asif was signed for his first acting role for a Malayalam film in 2010, however, he was dropped due to the allegations against him. He was eventually replaced by Pakistani-Canadian actor

Abbas Hasan Abbas Hasan is a United Kingdom based Canadian-French pop music artist and actor of South Asian heritage who has been named "the next big thing" in the Asian music and film scene by MTV India and HELLO! Magazine, and has recently won the Artist ...

in ''

Mazhavillinattam Vare ''Mazhavillinattam Vare'' ( ml, മഴവില്ലിനറ്റം വരെ; translation: ''Till the End of the Rainbow'') is a Malayalam–language sports and musical film co-written and directed by Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri. The ...

'' directed by

Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri Padma Shri Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri, popularly known as Kaithapram, is a Malayalam lyricist, poet, music director, actor, singer, screenwriter, music therapist and performer of Carnatic music. He debuted with the movie Ennennum Kannet ...

References

External links

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Mohammad Asif
Player Profile & Stats on Cricket.com.pk {{DEFAULTSORT:Asif, Mohammad 1982 births Living people Leicestershire cricketers Delhi Capitals cricketers Doping cases in Pakistani cricket ACC Asian XI One Day International cricketers Pakistan Test cricketers Pakistan One Day International cricketers Pakistan Twenty20 International cricketers Cricketers from Lahore Punjabi people Pakistani cricketers Pakistani people imprisoned abroad Prisoners and detainees of England and Wales Sheikhupura cricketers Khan Research Laboratories cricketers Quetta cricketers Sialkot cricketers National Bank of Pakistan cricketers Lahore Division cricketers Sialkot Stallions cricketers Water and Power Development Authority cricketers Cricketers banned for corruption Match fixers