PCB to consider Akhtar, Asif for Champions trophy: Bari
By ANIFriday, July 10, 2009
LAHORE - Controversial Pakistan fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif would be considered for selection for the ICC Champions Trophy scheduled to be held in September-October in South Africa, interim chief selector Wasim Bari has said.
“Asif’s ban will expire on September 22, two days before the Trophy starts, so he will be considered for the squad, and Akhtar will also be considered once he proves his fitness,” The Daily Times quoted Bari, as saying.
Akhtar last played for Pakistan in the five-match ODI series against Australia in the UAE.
He was initially selected in the team for the World Twenty20 Championship, but was later axed after a PCB medical committee declared him unfit due to a skin infection.
Asif, 25, was held at Dubai airport in June last year while returning home from India, and was charged with possessing a small amount of opium.
The pacer was also banned by the Indian Premier League (IPL) after he tested positive for banned anabolic steroid, nandrolone last summer while featuring in the inaugural season of the Twenty20 spectacle for Delhi Daredevils. He is currently serving a year’s ban. (ANI)
