Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar and wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal were some of the first players to be taken for random dope testing ahead of the World Cup, a source said on Thursday.
Published: Feb 17, 2011, 12:38 PM (IST)
Edited: Feb 17, 2011, 12:38 PM (IST)
Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Akhtar delivers a ball during a training session in Dhaka on February 14. Akhtar and wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal were some of the first players to be taken for random dope testing ahead of the World Cup, a source said on Thursday.
Dhaka, February 17, 2011
Â
Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar and wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal were some of the first players to be taken for random dope testing ahead of the World Cup, a source said on Thursday.
Â
Akhtar, 35, and Akmal, 29, were tested after a practice session on Wednesday by the International Cricket Council’s drug inspectors, the source said.
Â
“It’s normal to test players before and during a tournament,” he said. “Nothing fishy about it. Others will also be tested.”
Â
Akhtar, recalled for the World Cup after being out of action for a major part of the last three years due to a spate of injuries, tested positive for a banned drug nandrolone in 2006.
Â
Pakistan face England in a practice match in the Bangladeshi town of Fatullah on Friday, a game the ageing Akhtar needs to perform in to make the team for their World Cup opener agaainst Kenya on February 23.
Â
Akhtar did not bowl against Bangladesh on Tuesday with coach Waqar Younis admitting the fast bowler had yet to regain full fitness. Akhtar last played a Test match in 2007, and has claimed 244 one-day wickets in 160 matches at an average of 24.78.
Â
He was picked for the recent tour of New Zealand where he “improved in patches,” according to Waqar.
Â
“Shoaib is not in touch at the moment,” the fast bowling great said. “It is important he gets into full throttle before we get him into the side.”
Â
© AFP
