Cricinfo  

Dubai, Jun 3: Mohammad Asif, the Pakistan fast bowler, has been held in Dubai on suspicion of possessing drugs. The fast bowler, who tested positive for the banned steroid nandrolone, nearly two years ago, was held back by local authorities the day before yesterday though it is believed that they have not yet registered a case against him.

"Mohammad Asif has been held up since the day before yesterday in Dubai," a senior PCB official told Cricinfo. "So far the authorities haven't told us much but that it is on suspicion of possessing a contraband item."

Though the board had not yet been fully notified, the official said it was believed Asif was caught with a drug, either opium or hashish. Local TV channels have been reporting it as the former. When asked whether the PCB had provided any legal help to Asif in Dubai, the official said only that the situation will be made clear at a press conference the board will hold on the situation this afternoon at 12.30 pm.

Asif, along with Shoaib Akhtar, tested positive in an internal dope test conducted by the Pakistan board in October 2006. He was initially banned for one year, though the ban was overturned on appeal a month later. Since then, one of the most promising fast bowlers on the world circuit has been dogged by a long-standing elbow problem. The injury had already taken the sheen away from a prodigious start to his international career and this new development is likely to do so even more.