Million-rupee fine for Asif in Dubai detention case

	Mohammad Asif will be available for selection once he completes the IPL ban. © AFP
Related Links News : PCB panel ends work on Asif case News : PCB gives Asif another chance News : Asif must prove he wasn't deported from the UAE - PCB News : Asif banned for one year by IPL News : Asif suspended by Pakistan board News : Asif tested positive during IPL News : PCB forms three-man committee for Asif inquiry News : Dubai drops case against Asif News : The Asif affair Teams: Pakistan

Mohammad Asif has been fined Rs 1 million (US$12,500) by the Pakistan board over his detention at Dubai airport for alleged drug possession. Asif, 26, was detained for 19 days in June last year while returning to Pakistan after playing in the inaugural edition of the IPL.

The matter was investigated by a three-member PCB committee headed by Wasim Bari, the interim chief selector, which submitted its recommendations to PCB chairman Ijaz Butt. "On the recommendation of the committee we have fined Asif one million rupees," a PCB statement said.

"Asif has accepted our decision and he feels he had made a mistake," Bari told AP. "It was our committee's unanimous decision that Asif should be handed a financial penalty as we took a number of things into account before deciding the penalty."

In documents in the possession of Cricinfo, prosecutors in Dubai confirmed that he was found with a small quantity of opium; he was ultimately let off without a charge, local authorities arguing that the offence was a 'trivial' one and a case not worth pursuing. The documents, though, clearly state that Asif was deported.

He is also banned from playing any form of cricket till September, after he tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid Nandrolone during the IPL last year. "Asif will be available for selection once he completes the IPL ban," the PCB release said.

That was the second time in brief international career he'd tested positive for the same steroid, after his transgression during the Champions Trophy in 2006. He was subsequently banned for one year while team-mate Shoaib Akhtar, was handed a two-year ban.

"I am delighted I will be considered for selection again but as far as the fine is concerned I will consult my lawyer about it. But the most important thing for me is to resume my career in September," Asif said

Asif has taken 51 wickets in 11 Tests since making his debut in Australia in 2005. He also has 36 wickets in 31 ODIs and 12 in his nine Twenty20 internationals.