NEW DELHI, July 14: Pakistan pace bowler Mohammed Asif has been embroiled in another drug controversy after being identified as the player who failed a doping test during the inaugural Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament.

“The IPL can now confirm that Mohammed Asif is under scrutiny for a doping violation,” the Indian Premier League said in a statement on Monday.

The IPL said it had notified the player, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Asif’s IPL franchise, the Delhi Daredevils, regarding the findings of an independent, World Anti-Doping Agency-approved laboratory.

“I am shocked and surprised because I was extra cautious and never used any banned substance,” Asif said in Lahore on Monday.

“I was tested after the semi-final, but I thought the reports might have come earlier and I had cleared the test.

“I will decide the next course of action only after consultation with the PCB.”

IPL officials had examined the player’s medical forms submitted before the tournament, where he was allowed to declare any prescribed medication.

“It was checked if Asif had applied for and was granted a therapeutic use exemption,” the IPL said. “Asif had not applied for an exemption.”

Pakistan have delayed announcing their extended 30-player squad for the Champions Trophy later this year. It is unlikely that selectors will now include Asif.—AP