Pakistani cricket chiefs said Monday they had been vindicated after international sport's top court dismissed an appeal against reprieves for Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif in a doping case. "The ruling by the CAS obviously shows that the procedure adopted by us was correct and justified," PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf told AFP.
"When we told the news to Shoaib Akhtar and Asif both were very happy and relieved and said their innocence was proved," he said by telephone from Glasgow, where Pakistan are set to play a one-day international against India. "We followed the rules and regulations and that is why we have won this case. The PCB's policy has been proven correct and we are satisfied by this," he added.
Ashraf said the PCB is now fully in line with the anti-doping body's rules. "Our new doping policy complies with WADA and we have strict rules on that," Ashraf said. "The important thing about this case was that players always said they took protein substances unknowingly and this decision exonerates them."