IPL refuses to backdate Asif ban

Since his Pakistan career began in 2005, Asif has played only 11 Tests and 31 ODIs Indian Premier League (IPL) officials have refused to ease Mohammad Asif's one-year drugs ban. The Pakistan Cricket Board hoped the start of his suspension would be backdated to 15 July, when his positive test for nandrolone was confirmed. But IPL chairman Lalit Modi confirmed Asif's ban would run from 23 September 2008 to 22 September 2009. The seamer was part of the Delhi Daredevils squad during the inaugural IPL competition last year. "We've received a request from the Pakistan Cricket Board to advance the ban on Asif from 23 September to 15 July 2008, but we cannot do so," Modi said. "He could have appealed against it and then the Appeals Tribunal would have looked into it. He did not do so. The ban stays from 23 September 2008." The decision appears to mark the end of a drawn-out battle over Asif's punishment. An initial hearing took place last October and a second was scheduled the following month, but was postponed until January following the bomb attacks in Mumbai. The verdict was finally announced on 11 February, at which point the International Cricket Council instructed all member boards to ensure that Asif does not play any official cricket for the duration of his suspension. Asif initially claimed that eye drops prescribed for an inflammatory condition were the reason for the positive test, and that he would appeal against his ban. The offence was Asif's second involving nandrolone. He tested positive for the banned substance during an out-of-competition test conducted by the PCB in October 2006 and missed the Champions Trophy as a result. He was handed a one-year ban by the PCB, which was subsequently overturned on appeal after he claimed he had not knowingly taken the drug.