The Pakistan Cricket Board has started conducting dope tests on the probables for the Twenty20 World Cup, including fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, who last year tested positive for a banned substance.
"The tests are nearly completed and we have a doctor and a local representative of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) collecting the samples from the players for the tests," manager Talat Ali said on Tuesday.
He said the results of the tests are expected in a week's time.
Shoaib and Asif, after testing positive last year during out-of-competition tests conducted by the PCB, were first banned for two and one years respectively but subsequently cleared by an appellate panel of the board.
"They did not appear in dope tests conducted before the last World Cup earlier this year and were later withdrawn from the squad on fitness grounds." Talat said.
Talat said the dope tests were mandatory for those named in the camp for the Twenty20 event.
PCB official Ehsan Malik said the tests were part of Pakistan's zero tolerance policy towards drugs in sports.
"We have been conducting such tests for the last three years. This time the tests are under WADA regulations," he said.
He said Younis Khan, Danish Kaneria and Yasir Arafat, who are playing in England, would also undergo the tests abroad.
Malik said the team should be announced once the results of the latest tests are received from a Malaysian laboratory.
