It is None Other than Asif Again (Tested Positive)

Mohammad Asif has been confirmed as the player who tested positive for a banned substance during the Indian Premier League (IPL), the league has announced. The IPL, though, hasn't revealed the drug that was found in the sample that Asif, who played for the Delhi Daredevils, provided during random testing.

The IPL compared the result from the WADA-approved laboratory in Switzerland [that tested the samples] with the data collected by IDTM, the Sweden-based independent agency that organised the tests, and confirmed Asif as the player whose sample was positive.

The IPL medical committee then scruntinised the form filled by Asif prior to the test to verify but he had not applied for or been granted an exemption for the drug found in the sample. "It was also checked if Asif had applied for and was granted a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE)," an IPL release said. "It was found that Asif had not applied for a TUE. A note in writing has been sent to the player and his home board and to the franchise on the findings."

"I am shocked and surprised because I was extra cautious and never used any banned substances," Asif told AFP. "I don't know what to do. I will decide the next course of action only after consultation with my lawyer." Asif was detained in Dubai for possession of contraband drugs last month for 19 days and he is already the subject of a board inquiry into those events.

Because of the globally unique nature of the case - Asif, as a Pakistani, tested positive at a domestic Indian tournament approved by the ICC - there is bound to be some confusion over final jurisdiction in the matter. The ICC had said in a release on Sunday that it was the responsibility of the BCCI to "deal with the process in a timely and fair manner". Though initially the PCB said they would also take action against Asif, the case is not so clear anymore.