Contrary to Shoaib Akhtar’s reported claim that the syringes recovered from his luggage by customs officials were meant to inject himself with insulin.
Dope tests follow reports of syringes in bowler’s luggage
ISLAMABAD: Contrary to Shoaib Akhtar’s reported claim that the syringes recovered from his luggage by customs officials were meant to inject himself with insulin, Pakistan Cricket Board officials in Lahore say the fast bowler, rather than being diabetic, is infamous for being a druggie who had been using cocaine and performance-enhancing drugs to boost his bowling speed.
Approached for comments, Shafqat Naghmi, chief operating officer of the PCB, expressed ignorance over the medical history of the Rawalpindi Express, saying as far as he knows, former skipper Waseem Akram was the only Pakistani fast bowler known to be an insulin-dependent diabetic. “It is for the first time that I have heard of the fast bowler suffering from diabetes and will have to recheck with his personal physician to find out if he was actually a diabetic.”
However, another senior PCB official, who requested not to be named, said Shoaib had been using performance-enhancing drugs, cocaine, and cannabis for almost four years now and was banned on the same charges in November 2006 from playing international and domestic cricket after failing a drugs test. He pointed out that Shoaib never took this plea during the hearing of the doping charges against him by a three-member tribunal. “Had he been diabetic, he would have informed the tribunal of his ailment at that time,” he added.
The PCB official, while quoting those close to the bowler, said Shoaib often visits a Badian Road farmhouse on the outskirts of Lahore to attend private dance parties where he also takes drugs. The farmhouse reportedly is owned by his friend Kamran aka Kami, an official in the Federal Investigation Agency. The PCB official added that a friend of Shoaib had once told him that cocaine is popular among fast bowlers, including the Rawalpindi Express, because of its effectiveness as a short-term energy booster. “Though crack cocaine is usually sold in Pakistan for Rs20,000 per gram, it is hard to stop yourself from sniffing and smoking it when you are in a mood to party and want to have a ball,” he quoted Shoaib’s friend as having told him.
Meanwhile, following Pakistan media reports that Shoaib Akhtar carried a large number of syringes to India, the World Anti-Doping Agency has decided to conduct surprise dope tests on cricketers participating in the Indian Premier League’s Twenty20 tournament. “There are surprise dope tests to begin today (Saturday). The (WADA) team from Sweden has already come down. We don’t know which team will be subjected to the tests first or which player’s samples would be taken first,” said IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi.
Last year, Akhtar pulled out of the World Cup due to injury, but most suspected the real reason was that there were traces of Nandrolone, a banned steroid, in his system.
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