By IANS,
Karachi : Pakistan’s dope-tainted fast bowler Mohammad Asif faces further trouble as the charge of possessing an illegal substance while in transit at the Dubai airport has been proved against him, television reports here said Sunday.
Quoting unnamed government officials in Dubai, the reports said Asif has been proved guilty of carrying 0.24 gram of opium and will never be allowed to enter the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Asif, 26, was detained in Dubai for 19 days last June when the authorities caught him in possession of the drug. He was later deported to Pakistan with the authorities saying that the quantity of the banned drug found in his wallet was insignificant.
According to reports, Dubai authorities have said that Asif was deported only after some diplomatic moves.
The lanky fast bowler is already battling a possible two-year ban after testing positive for banned anabolic steroid nandrolone in the Indian Premier League (IPL) last May.
He was suspended from all cricket by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Asif, who has taken 51 wickets from just 11 Tests, is supposed to appear before an IPL drugs tribunal hearing in Mumbai later this month.
A source in the PCB told IANS Sunday that the board will look into the television reports about the Dubai incident next week. The board had already carried out an inquiry into the incident but later shelved its findings after a change in the PCB set-up last Sept.