For us, Asif innocent till proved otherwise: PCB

The Pakistan Cricket Board says it would consider pacer Mohammad Asif innocent until he is chargesheeted by authorities in Dubai for possessing banned drug.

The Pakistan Cricket Board on Tuesday said it would consider pacer Mohammad Asif innocent until he is chargesheeted by authorities in Dubai for possessing banned drug.

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Shafqat Naghmi, the PCB Chief Operating Officer, told a press conference in Lahore that he was hopeful that the matter would be resolved soon and the whole affair would prove a big mistake.

"Asif has not been chargesheeted as yet for possessing any drugs or banned substances. The substance found with him has been sent for laboratory tests after which the situation will become clearer," he said.

Asked why there was a delay in getting the results of the tests, Naghmi said he couldn't answer this as the Dubai authorities were supervising things.

But he confirmed that he had spoken to Asif, who was detained on Sunday while returning to Pakistan after playing in the Indian Premier League.

"We are hopeful he will return home and if that happens, that itself would be an indication that he is innocent. So there would be no question of taking any disciplinary action against him."