The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has made it clear that fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif will be allowed to compete in the World Cup next year only after they clear a fresh dope test. According to PCB Chairman Dr Nasim Ashraf, the pacemen had been lucky to get a reprieve this time. The 2007 World Cup, an International Cricket Council event in which the World Anti Doping regulations apply, is scheduled to begin in the West Indies from March. Ashraf said that if the duo failed the test, they would not be selected for cricket's biggest event. He added that all the players selected for the World Cup as well as the reserves would be tested and if a residue of banned substance nandrolone still remained in Shoaib and Asif's samples, they would not be selected. Shoaib and Asif stand the risk of testing positive before the World Cup, as traces of nandrolone remain in the body for four to six months.

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