The drug that Imran Nazir used was a banned one

Pakistan opener Imran Nazir got a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the International Cricket Council (ICC) only hours before the ICC Champions Trophy match against West Indies, as the apex cricketing authority had first denied allowing Nazir to take the field.

Sources privy to the Pakistani dressing room said that Nazir was given emergency medical treatment for his breathing problems, but the drugs given to him were proscribed.

"The drug that Imran Nazir used was a banned one. When the matter was brought into the notice of ICC, they refused to accept the Pakistan plea in the beginning," sources said.

"However, when they were told that he was on the medicine previously and that was in the notice of the ICC medical panel, they convened a conference and decided to allow Imran to play in the opening match after getting clearance from their doctors," they added.

Nazir, however, looked awfully out of touch in the match against a second string West Indies squad and managed to score just five runs in Pakistan's run chase.

Chasing a meager target of 134 runs, Pakistan won the match by five wickets with Umer Akmal hitting 41 runs.

Meanwhile, the PCB has denied any complexity regarding the Nazir issue, saying the ICC has already been informed about the matter.

"I do not think there is any complicity involved as the matter was already in the notice of the ICC," The News quoted a PCB spokesman, as saying.