UAE batter Asif Khan banned 15 months for anti-doping violation
UAE batter Asif Khan banned 15 months for anti-doping violation
United Arab Emirates batter Asif Khan has accepted a 15-month period of ineligibility after testing positive for a banned substance, the International Cricket Council has confirmed. The Pakistan-born batsman was found to have a metabolite of mesterolone, an anabolic steroid used to increase testosterone levels, in a sample collected during an out-of-competition doping test on September 8, 2025.
The 36-year-old admitted to violating Article 2.1 of the ICC Anti-Doping Code and accepted the sanction through a Case Resolution Agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the ICC. "The 36-year-old admitted to a violation of Article 2.1 of the ICC Anti-Doping Code and accepted the sanction through a Case Resolution Agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Cricket Council," read a statement from cricket's world governing body.
The period of ineligibility has been backdated to September 8, 2025, when the drug test was conducted, and will run until December 7, 2026.
Under the terms of the sanction, Asif will be permitted to return to training with a team or use the facilities of a club or other ICC Member organisation from October 8, but he will only be eligible to return to competitive cricket from December 8. "Asif will be permitted to return to training with a team or use the facilities of a club or other ICC Member organisation from October 8, but will only be eligible to return to competitive cricket from December 8," the ICC statement said.
The ICC has also disqualified his individual results from September 8, 2025 until the start of his provisional suspension on December 29, 2025. "This includes all resulting consequences, such as the loss of any medals, points, prize money or prizes."
Asif, who was born in Pakistan and moved to the UAE in 2017, has represented the Emirates in 38 ODIs and 56 T20 Internationals since making his international debut in 2022. Before moving to the UAE, the right-handed batter played 32 first-class matches in Pakistan's domestic cricket.