Pakistan's Shoaib Akhtar (right) and Mohammad Asif ... out of the Cup squad. - Reuters

KARACHI (Reuters):

PAKISTAN PACE bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif have been ruled out of the World Cup due to injury, a senior cricket board official said yesterday.

The double withdrawal comes just five months after the pair tested positive for the anabolic steroid nandrolone and were banned by their national board before an appeal panel cleared them to play again.

Shoaib, who has played only one Test and four one-dayers since February 2006 due to fitness concerns, has not recovered from the knee injury that forced him to be sent back from South Africa last month.

Niggling elbow problem

Asif has been carrying a niggling elbow problem since that tour and the pair were receiving treatment in London.

"The doctors have said they require at least another three weeks to make a complete recovery from their injuries. We couldn't wait for that long," Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief selector Wasim Bari said.

"Yasir Arafat and Mohammad Sami will be sent as their replacements."

The loss of the new-ball pair, coupled with all-rounder Abdul Razzaq's withdrawal, is a setback to Pakistan's hopes before their opening match against hosts West Indies on the first day of the tournament on March 13.

"Certainly, it is not an ideal situation for us. Losing three experienced players is a big disappointment," said captain Inzamam-ul-Haq.

"But we just have to manage with the players we have and they are capable of doing well."

Exonerated

After testing positive for nandrolone last October, 31-year-old Shoaib was banned for two years and Asif for one year by a drugs inquiry tribunal. An appellate panel of the board later exonerated them of doping charges and lifted the suspensions.

The incident led to the Pakistan board holding in-house dope tests for the players and reserves in the World Cup squad.

All the players appeared and passed the tests except Shoaib and Asif, who were being treated for their injuries in Britain.

Sources within the board said the decision to drop the players on the eve of the team's departure might have come as a result of an unusually strong statement about doping issued by the International Cricket Council (ICC) yesterday.

But PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf insisted the bowlers were out because of injuries.

"We had to withdraw them because of the injuries. They might take weeks, even months, to recover completely," he told a news conference in Islamabad.

ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed said in his statement that Shoaib and Asif could face doping tests as soon as they arrived in the Caribbean for the World Cup.

He also described their continuing to play international cricket as an embarrassment for the sport.

"The ICChad made its position very clear and the board could no longer take a risk of them facing drug problems again in the World Cup," one source said.

Medical experts say traces of nandrolone remain in the body for up to six months.