These are torrid times for Pakistan cricket. Just a few months before the start of the 2007 World Cup in West Indies, Pakistan is gripped in a major turmoil that began with the forfeiture of The Oval Test against England this August and its end is nowhere in sight.

The latest and the most lethal blow came for Greenshirts in the form of doping bans for their pace stars Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif. The duo was tested positive for banned anabolic steroid nandrolone in October and was withdrawn from Pakistan's Champions Trophy squad before its opening match of the ten-nation contest on October 16.
The news that Shoaib and Asif were involved in a doping scandal came as a bombshell for cricket officials and fans alike as the two are regarded among the key players of the Pakistan team. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) which carried out the dope tests internally in September, after a disappointing tour of England, immediately suspended the players and later formed a three-member tribunal to investigate the case.

The tribunal was headed by former Punjab Governor Shahid Hamid, who is a prominent lawyer and included Pakistan's former Test captain Intikhab Alam and doping expert Dr Waqar Ahmad. As the fans prayed that the star players would be cleared of the charges, the tribunal investigated the issue and found that Shoaib and Asif were guilty of using banned performance enhancing drugs. The tribunal banned Shoaib for two years and Asif for one year and said that the players had the right to appeal against the punishment. The fact the players were given different sentences for the same offence ignited criticism from some quarters and there was a whispering campaign that the authorities may have decided to end Shoaib's career by banning him for two years.

Shoaib is already 31 and has been injury-prone in recent years and by the time the ban ends he would be 33, a ripe old age for fast bowlers. However, the tribunal defended its decision saying that Shoaib was fully aware of the consequences of taking banned drugs as he has been an international sports star for the last ten years, has attended a doping awareness seminar and was dope tested twice before the latest one. They said that the two-year punishment was the minimum sentence they could award to the player according to international regulations. However, the tribunal said that Asif's case was quite different. In its detailed report, the tribunal said that there was reasonable doubt that Asif, who is uneducated, may not have been aware of the anti-doping rules and regulations as he is relatively new in international cricket and comes from a rural background.

Both Shoaib and Asif, who continue to plead their innocence, decided to appeal against the case. The PCB was quick to appoint an appeal committee, which some people expect, might reduce the punishment for the players. But the damage has been done to Pakistan cricket and no matter what decision the appeal committee takes on the issue, the scandal has tainted the sport in this country. For the players, the positive dope tests have come as a rude awakening.

 

Shoaib Akhtar, one of the biggest stars in the world of cricket, might never be able to feature in an international match if the ban is implemented. His career history has always been far from ordinary. The three most hurtful criticisms to be hurled at a fast bowler are ball tampering, drug-taking and having a suspect action and this 'Rawalpindi Express' has been accused of all of them.
Shoaib was destined for both glory and controversy. The pacer burst on to the Test scene at the age of 22 in 1997, taking 2-47 to help Pakistan to an innings victory over West Indies in Rawalpindi. He soon became a key figure in the national team but after taking 16 wickets in the 1999 World Cup, he was fined and banned by the PCB for returning late from a night out. The setback was soon followed by the first of the criticisms of his bowling action, which led to a suspension following a Test in Australia. His action was questioned again over the next two years before it was finally cleared by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

But Shoaib was not ready to surrender in spite of all the blows. He responded by hurling the first recorded 100mph delivery, in a one-day international against New Zealand in April 2002. The feat transformed him into an international celebrity as now he was officially the fastest bowler in world cricket. Controversy was to return later that year, however, when he was found guilty of ball tampering in a Test against Zimbabwe. After being found guilty of committing the offence again in a one-day international against New Zealand in 2003, he was banned for two matches. It was his fast bowling exploits that caught the attention at the World Cup that year, when he again clocked over 100mph against England. But the tournament was ultimately not a great success and he captured only 11 wickets in six matches as Pakistan failed to reach the second round.

The next problem for Shoaib was fitness, with injury curtailing his tour to Australia in early 2005 and sidelining him for the trip to the Caribbean five months later. He returned in emphatic style to take 17 wickets in the 2-0 Test series victory against England later that year but then after the knee surgery he suffered a stress fracture of the ankle and missed the tour to Sri Lanka.

His importance to the Pakistan attack was underlined when he was awarded a central contract despite missing the Test series in England as he continued to struggle with fitness problems. Akhtar played in the first four matches of the end-of-tour one-day series, claiming nine wickets to take his tally to 208 from 133 matches.

He was selected for the Champions Trophy, only to be withdrawn before the team's first match as the drug revelations became apparent. Asif's story, on the other hand, had no such drama at least before the doping offence. The lanky lad from a small village near Sheikhupura made an unimpressive debut against Australia in January 1995 when he went wicketless in the Sydney Test.
He was rejected by some cricket experts but had a few supporters in men like Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer. The Englishman kept faith in Asif and just a month later termed him as the 'most improved player' in the pool of second string cricketers. Asif staked his claim for a Test comeback by taking ten wickets in a warm-up game against England in the winter of 2005. However, he was unable to earn a spot in the Pakistani line-up in that series which was dominated by Shoaib Akhtar as Pakistan whitewashed England 3-0.

Asif did feature in the one-day series against England and made an instant impression. He got the prized scalp of England opener Marcus Trescothick with his third ball and ended with 2 for 14 following an impressive spell.

The major breakthrough for Asif came in the Karachi Test against India early this year when he claimed seven wickets as the home team sealed a memorable series win against their arch-rivals. The medium pacer then made his mark in the away series against Sri Lanka, taking 17 wickets in two tests, including an 11-wicket haul in a thumping triumph at Kandy. He was expected to play a key role in Pakistan's campaign in England this summer but an elbow injury forced him out of the first three Tests. He returned to play in the forfeited Test at The Oval and took five wickets. How bleak the future is for them, we can but wait and see.