Pakistan cricketers line up for dope tests

Indo-Asian News Service Sunday, July 20, 2008 2:47 PM (Karachi) Pakistan's star cricketers lined up at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore on Sunday to undergo dope tests two months before the Champions Trophy. Two years ago, Pakistan conducted similar, out-of-competition dope tests ahead of the 2006 Champions Trophy in India. That exercise ended on an explosive note when key pacers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif tested positive for banned anabolic steroid nandrolone but by that time the competition had already begun and Pakistan had to pull the pacers out of their squad. Just days later, their team was bundled out of the first round. This time the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is hoping to avoid a repeat of that embarrassing episode. The Board is conducting the dope tests two months before the Champions Trophy and... [read full story]