Pakistani pacers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammed Asif find themselves yet again in a soup after reportedly testing positive for a banned substance in a secret dope test conducted by the Pakistan Cricket Board.

One may recall that both bowlers were tested positive for the first time in October 2006 during the ICC Champions trophy where later on they got a reprieve from a PCB appeals committee.

The PCB has not issued any official confirmation about the secretly conducted dope tests of the two cricketers. It has already announced that it would carry out dope tests of all 15 players selected to play the World Cup in the West Indies next month.

But, the Board decided to test Akhtar and Asif before schedule to secretly check whether they are still carrying traces of nandrolone. Shoaib and Asif who have already been included in the world cup squad would certainly be tested for illegal drugs by the ICC, which has already announced introducing ‘target testing’ during the tournament.

If found guilty of a doping offence for the second time, Akhtar and Asif may be banned for life.