IPL Name Mohammad Asif for Positive Test

The Indian Premier League has named the Pakistan pace bowler Mohammad Asif as the player who tested positive for a banned substance during the tournament this year.

The International Cricket Council said in a statement released yesterday that it had been informed of an adverse analytical finding by the World Anti-Doping Agency's accredited laboratory which had conducted the tests and Asif, who played for the Delhi Daredevils, was today named as the player in question.

A statement from the IPL said: "The Indian Premier League compared the result from the WADA-approved laboratory in Switzerland with the data collected by IDTM, the Sweden-based independent agency which organized the anti-doping testing in accordance with World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) standards, to confirm the player in violation is Mr Mohammad Asif."

The Indian Premier League commissioner Lalit Modi yesterday confirmed that the IPL had received a letter from the Swiss laboratory but said there was a procedure to follow before actually concluding that a player was indeed guilty of using banned substances.

"First of all the identity of the player with the sample has to be matched," said Modi. "Then the form, which the player filled before the tournament will be scrutinized for any pre-declared or prescribed drug use. If that matches the drug found in the sample, the matter ends there.

"If it does not, the player is informed and a 'B' sample would then be tested. If that sample also tests positive, the matter will be taken up by the IPL drugs tribunal."

Should a player be found guilty of doping, the IPL could ban the player for up to five years while also imposing a fine. A second positive test on the player would mean a life ban.