New Delhi, July 14:

Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif tested positive for a banned substance during random testing at the Indian Premier League (IPL), the IPL said on Monday.

“The IPL confirms the player in violation is Mohammad Asif,” a media release from the IPL said. Asif, 25, played for the Delhi Daredevils team in the IPL, a lucrative Twenty20 tournament that ran from April 18-June 1 and featured the world’s top players.

Officials compared the result from the WADA-approved laboratory in Switzerland with data collected by IDTM, the Sweden-based independent agency which organised testing in accordance with World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) standards. The nature of the banned substance has not been disclosed.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had been informed of Asif’s positive test and it depended on the player if he wanted his ‘B’ sample to be tested.

The seamer faces a ban from the IPL and possible punishment from the PCB if all tests go against him. Asif was detained at Dubai airport for three weeks for possessing opium while returning from the IPL in June. But Dubai public prosecutors dropped the case citing “insignificance” and deported him to Pakistan.