PCB recall Shoaib, Asif after positive tests

By Waheed Khan

KARACHI, Oct 16 - Pakistan are recalling pacemen Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif from the Champions Trophy in India after they failed drug tests, a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official told Reuters on Monday.

A formal announcement will be made following a hastily-arranged board meeting.

"It is confirmed that Shoaib and Asif are coming back. Their return flight bookings are being made," said a board official, declining to be named.

The official said Mohammad Sami, Shahid Nazir and Yasir Arafat were being discussed as possible replacements.

PCB sources said that Shoaib and Asif might faces bans from the International Cricket Council (ICC) and could miss next year's World Cup.

As the tests were conducted by the PCB before the players left for the one-day tournament, and as Shoaib and Asif were being recalled voluntarily, the ICC can allow Pakistan to replace them.

Pakistan cricket is still reeling from a ball-tampering fiasco which caused the team to forfeit the recent fourth test against England at The Oval, controversy over the captaincy and the resignation of board chairman Shaharyar Khan.

The Champions Trophy involves all the test-playing nations and is second only to the World Cup in importance.

The Pakistan team skipped their scheduled morning training session in Jaipur following the news.

Skipper Younis Khan and coach Bob Woolmer were expected to address a news conference later on Monday, the eve of their opening Group B tie against Sri Lanka.

(Additional reporting by N.Ananthanarayanan in Jaipur)

This story is from ESPN.com's automated news wire. Wire index