LAHORE, Feb 13: While the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has asked the Indian Premier League (IPL) to review the ban on Mohammad Asif, the fast bowler’s medical expert Michael Graham also arrived in Lahore from England on Friday to study his case and to defend it more forcefully in Mumbai.

In a letter sent to Lalit Modi, Commissioner IPL, the PCB Chief Operating Officer (COO) Salim Altaf suggested that according to the rules, Asif’s ban should be imposed from July 15, 2008 and not Sept 23.

Salim wrote that according to the law, the suspension should begin from the date when the sample was found.

“Our reading of the situation and of the law in issue pursuant to clause 9.7 of the IPL handbook suggests the period of suspension begins from the date when the sample is found to contain an adverse substance.”

“This is why the Pakistan Cricket Board imposed the ban on Mohammad Asif from July 15, 2008 i.e the day when the specimen supplied by Mohammad Asif revealed an adverse analytical finding.

However, the IPL suspended Asif from September 2008 instead of July 15, 2008. Our reading of the law suggests that the IPL should also ought to have imposed the ban from July 15, 2008 and not from Sept 23, 2008,” the contents of the letter, obtained by Dawn, states.

It further says: “After the final verdict, the issue mentioned in the preceding paragraph has gained immense importance because Asif, who has been handed down a one-year ban is actually being made to suffer a more than fourteen months ban which is against all norms of fair play, justice and equity and the ground norm of both India and Pakistan. You are, therefore, requested to kindly look into the matter and review the date from which the count is to start.”

Meanwhile, Asif’s medical expert was in Lahore to examine the case. From here he would leave for Mumbai to defend the case. A three-member IPL doping committee had announced the punishment early this week.

Asif, who had appeared in the inaugural edition of the IPL held last year was tested positive after doping test. Though Asif had challenged the B sample of the test in Switzerland he could not convince the doping committee, which imposed one-year ban from cricket. But as the PCB had banned him from July 15, the period of ban has been extended to 14 months instead of one year.