IPL names Asif as positive test

Mohammad Asif has been found guilty of drug-taking

Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif has been named by the Indian Premier League as the player who failed a drugs test.

IPL commissioner Lalit Modi confirmed yesterday that a player tested positive for a banned substance during the first edition of the tournament, but did not reveal who it was.

However, Asif, who played for the Delhi Daredevils, was today named in a statement from the IPL as the player in question.

The statement read: “The Indian Premier League compared the result from the WADA-approved laboratory in Switzerland with the data collected by IDTM, the Sweden-based independent agency which organised the anti-doping testing in accordance with World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) standards, to confirm the player in violation is Mr Mohammad Asif.”

It continued: "It was also checked if Mr Mohammad Asif had applied for and was granted a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE). It was found that Mr Mohammad Asif had not applied for a TUE.

“A note in writing has been sent to the player and his home board and to the franchisee on the findings.”

The announcement comes as the latest in a succession of controversies to blight the 25-year-old’s career.

Following the Daredevils’ semi-final elimination from the IPL, Asif was detained by authorities in Dubai for more than two weeks after a powder was found in his wallet.

Asif is eventually freed when when the public prosecutor drops the case, citing “insignificance”.