Asif. — File Photo: AP

Karachi: In an about turn, Pakistan cricket authorities on Tuesday surprisingly lifted the bans on fast bowling spearheads Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, imposed only 34 days ago with great fanfare, and made them eligible to play in the World Cup five months away.

Shoaib was banned for two years and Asif for one by a Dope Tribunal on November 1, throwing their careers in jeopardy, but the new Appellate Tribunal overturned the ruling, which it said was ``too harsh.''

Justice (retd.) Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim, who headed the three-member Appeals Tribunal, said their bans had been lifted after hearing out convincing arguments through their lawyers. ``The bans on them were too harsh,'' he said adding it was up to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to decide whether the two bowlers could be fielded in the ongoing one-day series against the West Indies. — PTI

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