Dope Verdict Firm But Not Entirely Fair

[Kamranz]

Dope Verdict Firm But Not Entirely Fair
Nov 2, 2006 | Richard Sydenham

It seems all officials and commentators are content with the punishment meted out by the Pakistan Cricket Board on Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif. But are they missing the obvious?

First of all, the high traces of nandrolone in the players’ samples that were arranged by the PCB and studied in Malaysia cannot be doubted and clearly bans were inevitable.

However, if you read the detailed report offered by the PCB-elected three-man panel presiding over the hearing, though it is an impressive study the standout conclusion for me was that Shoaib had been sanctioned for double the time of Asif because he should have known better; because he is 31 and Asif 23; because Shoaib has taken part in anti-doping programs, while Asif is “from a remote village and doesn’t understand”. This is a fair comment but inconsistent and unjust as both are professionals and should know about the dangers of drugs in sport.

I’m not taking sides here - I know both players personally - but given that the reasons and details of their crimes were still unsubstantiated by the end of the hearing, we are left with two sportsmen whose test results were very similar and yet one receives a two-year ban that could end his career and the other a ban for half that time, which will merely smear a career that could still continue for another ten years following his resumption next October.

Shoaib’s lifestyle is well documented – usually exaggerated too – and although he is nowhere close to joining the devout Islamic movement inside the Pakistan team, which sees the players pray together five times a day from five in the morning, he is nonetheless still a proud Muslim and Pakistani; just one who is not infallible and one who is prone to hitting the self-destruct button more times than he should.

Although he is technically guilty, even if he did unknowingly allow banned substances to enter his body, should he really be punished in this instance for having a lifestyle more exuberant than should befit a Pakistan cricketer. Read the following paragraph that was written about him in the PCB panel’s conclusion:

“Occasional smoker and a past history of infrequent alcohol consumption, with a penchant for western lifestyle, sexually active Shoaib has an unremarkable medical history.”

Maybe we can applaud the fine detail in the report that is documented as professionally as a family GP would record personal information, but ultimately, what does his sex life and “penchant” for a western lifestyle have to do with this case. There is a hint that the sanction against him has been influenced by the history of disciplinary problems he has suffered. But to punish him now for misdemeanours of the past is wrong.

Cricket struggles already to entice spectators from outside of the cricket bubble (or the Test world at least), and taking one of the most exciting players / entertainers out of the arena for a year longer than need be is self-defeating and not doing the sport any good.

I’ll emphasize again that I am in no way condoning drugs in sport, and in this case a year would seem to have been fair given the example of Cricket Australia’s board and it’s star leg-spinner Shane Warne in 2003. Although Warne tested positive for a diuretic, both cases are similar in that both pleaded their innocence and were not trying to gain performance-enhancement. Warne leads a similar lifestyle and it did not work against him, and religion or culture should not come into this. That is a topic altogether different.

The reliable reports of PCB officials pushing for a lenient punishment so they could play in the World Cup may have been accurate but were probably unrealistic. And such tales may also have caused a bloody-minded reaction from the panel that they would not be going soft on the players and allowing them a tradesman’s entrance back into the team for the World Cup in March. Who knows?

But let’s hope common sense prevails and, following an appeal, we see Asif AND Shoaib running in against Tendulkar, Dravid & Co. in the home series in January 2008.

Richard Sydenham is Managing Editor of Bigstarcricket.com

http://www.bigstarcricket.com/bs/opi...cle_1291.shtml


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[KB]

Read the following paragraph that was written about him in the PCB panel’s conclusion: “Occasional smoker and a past history of infrequent alcohol consumption, with a penchant for western lifestyle, sexually active Shoaib has an unremarkable medical history.”

That quotation was actually part of Shoaib's written presentation, prepared with assistance from his medical advisor, Dr. Nouman Niaz .

[in_cutter]

already posted?