Saturday, March 21, 2009

Cricket-Asif contests legal bill after Dubai detention

KARACHI, March 21 (Reuters) - Pakistan's banned pace bowler Mohammad Asif is contesting a bill of 6.5 million rupees ($80,770) presented by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for legal help.
The board's finance department want to recover the amount it says was spent on helping Asif during his 19-day detention in Dubai last June after he was stopped at the airport for carrying 0.24 grams of opium in his wallet.
Asif was released by the Dubai authorities without facing any criminal charges after the PCB hired a law firm to represent him.
"They have sent me a bill of around 6.5 million rupees but I have said I am not in a position to pay this amount," Asif said on Saturday. "I have been paid nothing by the board nor earned anything since last July because of the ban."
Asif, who has played 11 tests, is serving a one-year ban after testing positive for the banned anabolic steroid nandrolone during the Indian Premier League (IPL) last year. He has denied intentionally using drugs.

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