Asif to face IPL drugs tribunal in London

Mohammad Asif, the Pakistan fast bowler, will appear before the IPL drugs tribunal in London next month after the hearing was shifted to a neutral venue at his request, his lawyer has said. Asif's appeal had been put off due to the terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

"We requested to the IPL tribunal that since there has been a delay in the proceedings due to the aftermath of the Mumbai incidents, it should be shifted to a neutral venue, so it will now be held on January 24 in London," Asif's lawyer Shahid Karim told AFP.

Asif, 25, had tested positive for the steroid nandrolone during the inaugural edition of the tournament. The tribunal will quiz Asif about the outcome of the test result and if found guilty, Asif could face a ban of two years from all competitive cricket.

The tribunal, comprising former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, the former vice-chancellor of India's Maharashtra University of Health Sciences Dr Ravi Bapat, and lawyer Shirish Gupte, had set November 29 as the date for hearing Asif's appeal in Mumbai, after he had appeared before them on October 11.

Asif also faces a possible ban or fine from the Pakistan Cricket Board after he was found in possession of opium at Dubai Airport in June this year. The PCB is looking at the two separate offences as one, arguing that punishment for one will serve as punishment for the latter.

Asif last played for Pakistan against Zimbabwe in April before his stint with the Delhi Daredevils in the IPL.