Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan said Wednesday that pacemen Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, at the centre of a doping scandal, were likely the victims of ignorance.

Khan, who resigned two weeks ago amid a row over the team captaincy, said he believed the pair would not have taken the banned performance-enhancing steroid nandrolone on purpose.

"We had warned the players, especially all those who were injured, they must consult doctors before taking any medicine and it's hugely disappointing that two key players are now facing charges," Khan told AFP from Lahore.

Akhtar and Asif will face a PCB doping tribunal after they tested positive for nandrolone and were called home from the Champions Trophy in India on Monday.

"We had been warning the players to be cautious about using medicines and the warnings were included in their central contracts as well. But they did not heed them -- in fact players do not read their contracts," added Khan.

However the former diplomat added that it was up to the tribunal to assess why the pair had tested positive, "whether they have taken it to cure their injuries or it's for the enhancement of performance."

The PCB is likely to name a three-member tribunal later Wednesday which is expected to include former Test captain and coach Intikhab Alam, a doping expert and a lawyer.

Khan's replacement Nasim Ashraf said on Tuesday that he would take a zero tolerance approach to doping, while adding that Akhtar and Asif will be allowed to fight their cases through checks on their 'B' samples.

Under International Cricket Council (ICC) rules, the minimum ban for a first doping offence is two years, but since the tests were conducted internally by the PCB the home board has said it will deal with the matter.

Meanwhile Khan dismissed accusations by former captain Imran Khan that the timing of the tests was wrong and that they should have come before the naming of the squad for the Champions Trophy.

"The ICC has a clear policy on doping and had directed member countries to have dope tests on the players, and that is why we conducted tests in late September," he said.

Khan's last two months as PCB chairman were marred by two months of controversy, beginning with the Oval Test fiasco in August when Pakistan refused to take to the field to protest a penalty for alleged ball-tampering.

He quit on October 6 after Younis Khan declined to replace captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, who was banned for the Champions Trophy for bringing the game into disrepute at the Oval.

New chairman Ashraf then reinstated Younis.

(Article: Copyright © 2006 AFP)