Asif Set to Face The Music

Asif - quilty?

Pakistan bowler Mohammad Asif will appear before an Indian Premier League drugs inquiry tribunal next week according to his lawyer Shahid Karim.

Asif tested positive for the banned drug nandrolone during the semi-final of the IPL in May but believes there were irregularities in his case.

The 25-year-old subsequently requested his second sample be tested and travelled to the World Anti-Doping Agency-accredited laboratory in Lausanne, Switzerland to oversee the test, which was also positive.

However, the quantity of the drug varied in each sample.

He is now set to discuss his case before a panel comprising former India Test captain Sunil Gavaskar, lawyer Shirish Gupte and doctor Ravi Bapat next week.

"We are looking into some of the technical aspects of the case and have sought the assistance of a British sports medicine and doping expert," Karim was quoted as saying in the News.

"We have sent a formal request to the IPL for a hearing in which we have informed them that the tests had also shown traces of different food in the sample as well."

The tribunal could ban Asif for a minimum of two years. Asif can appeal the verdict only before WADA.