Disgraced Pakistani fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif are expected to face a doping tribunal next week, a Pakistan Cricket Board official said Tuesday.
The hearing follows the PCB's decision to order the pair back from the International Cricket Council Champions Trophy tournament on Monday after failing a doping test.
The board is currently considering different names to sit on a three-member tribunal expected to sit next week to examine the case against the bowlers and consider penalties, said the official, who declined to be identified because he was unauthorized to speak to the media.
The official said the players face a ban of up to two years, but the tribunal may consider a lesser punishment if it is proven that the bowlers used the banned steroid Nandrolone "unintentionally." Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram has expressed willingness to be part of the tribunal, while a lawyer and a board official must fill the other two seats.
Plans for the convening of a tribunal come a day after PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf said the bowlers had tested positive in out-of-competition tests last month and would not participate in the tournament underway in India.