NEW DELHI: Fast bowler Muhammad Asif has been banned for one year by Indian Premier League(IPL) for his positive drug test during the league's inaugural edition in 2008. The ban runs till September 22 2009, which means he will miss the tournament's second season starting April 10. "The year's ineligibility for Muhammad Asif will be from September 22 2008, as that was the date when the Indian Premier League had imposed the suspension order, post which the cricketer has not been allowed to play any match," the IPL drugs tribunal stated in a release. Asif, whose samples contained the banned substance nandrolone, had earlier appealed against the suspension. He subsequently told the tribunal, investigating his case, that his nandrolone levels had been enhanced by the use of eye drops which contained the substance, which he was unaware of. Currently suspended from all forms of cricket by the Pakistan board, Asif was hopeful that the tribunal would clear him of any wrongdoing. He had told the tribunal he was unaware that Keratyl, the eye drops he used to treat a painful and inflamed eye, contained nandrolone. The tribunal included Sunil Gavaskar, lawyer Shirish Gupte and Dr Ravi Bapat. Asif had tested positive for nandrolone during the inaugural season of the IPL in 2008 and his B sample also returned positive though there was a difference in the level of nandrolone in the two readings. He is also embroiled in another mess after he was detained at Dubai airport last year for possessing opium, a case which the PCB is still investigating.
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