Pak team leaves for Windies with 13 players; Shoaib, Asif ruled out

Lahore, Mar 1 (UNI) A 13-member Pakistan cricket squad left for the West Indies today with their World Cup hopes severely dainted after pacers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif were ruled out of the mega event due to injuries.

Pakistan Cricket Boartd (PCB) has named all-rounder Yasir Arafat and speedster Mohammad Sami to replace Shoaib and Asif and they will fly to the Caribbean in a week's time after clearance by the ICC.

A large number of fans gave a warm send-off to the Inzamam-ul-Haq-led side at the Karachi Airport just before noon today.

Talking to mediapersons before the team's departure, Inzamam said the team would play to achieve the best possible results in the showpiece event.

Shaoib and Asif were declared unfit hours before the departure of the team.

''The doctors have said they require at least another three weeks to make a complete recovery from their injuries. Yasir Arafat and Mohammad Sami will be sent as their replacements,'' Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief selector Wasim Bari told reporters.

Their withdrawal comes just five months after the pair tested positive for the anabolic steroid nandrolone and banned by PCB before an appeal panel cleared them to play again.

Shoaib has been nursing a knee injury that forced him to return home from South Africa last month while Asif has been carrying a niggling elbow problem since that tour.

The pair were apparently receiving treatment in London for their injuries, but local media have reported extensively that they had gone there to have private drugs tests to confirm if any traces of banned nandrolone remained in their bodies before the World Cup.

Medical experts say that traces of nandrolone remain in the body for up to six months.

Inzamam admitted that his team has not had a perfect build-up with Shoaib and Asif joining all-rounder Abdul Razzaq as high profile withdrawals from the squad, but bowed to perform to the the best of their abilities in the Caribbean.

''Certainly it is not an ideal situation for us. Losing three experienced players is a big disappointment,'' Inzamam said.

''But we just have to manage with the players we have and they are capable of doing well.'' ''It is a big blow for us, but I am confident that Yasir Arafat and Mohammad Sami will live up to the expectations,'' coach Bob Woolmer said.

''They will join the team in a week's time and we hope to overcome our injury problems with a united team effort.'' Meanwhile, International Cricket Council issued an unusually strong statement today on the doping issue.

ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed indicated Shoaib and Asif could face doping tests as soon as they arrived in the Caribbean.

''Both Shoaib Ahktar and Mohammed Asif testing positive for prohibited substances last year has brought a high level of embarrassment to the game and now we want to make it absolutely sure that players, taking part in the forthcoming World Cup, do not bring the game to disrepute any further,'' Mr Speed said.

Most of members of Pakistan's World Cup squad and reserves had cleared internal dope tests carried out by PCB last week. Inzamam and Afridi missed the earlier round of the testing because of personal commitments, but cleared the tests yesterday.

UNI