Not guilty, pleads Asif

Pakistan fast bowler Mohammed Asif returned home Friday and apologised 8220;to the whole nation8221; after Dubai authorities dropped a drug investigation against him...

Pakistan fast bowler Mohammed Asif returned home Friday and apologised 8220;to the whole nation8221; after Dubai authorities dropped a drug investigation against him, ending almost three weeks of detention.

Asif was detained on June 1 after authorities allegedly found opium in his wallet as he traveled through Dubai8217;s international airport on his way home from playing in the Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament.

Asif arrived in Pakistan on a flight from Dubai early Friday and immediately proclaimed his innocence.

8220;No banned substance was recovered from me, and all of my tests were clear,8221; he told reporters at Lahore International Airport. He said he was also cleared in two earlier medical tests before playing in India.

8220;If those tests had not been cleared, ICC would have banned me earlier,8221; he said, referring to world cricket8217;s governing body, the International Cricket Council.

But later on Friday, when Asif met with Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Nasim Ashraf, he was less defiant. 8220;I feel shame and apologise to the whole nation over what happened,8221; he told reporters.

He said he had never used any illegal substance, and would not do so in the future. Ashraf announced Friday that a three-member committee, chaired by the PCB8217;s chief operating officer Shafqat Naghmi, would probe Asif8217;s case from Monday.

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Earlier, the PCB said in a statement that it welcomed Asif8217;s release and was 8220;relieved that this ordeal is over.

8220;We appreciate the professional manner in which this whole issue was dealt with by the Dubai police, prosecution department and the UAE authorities,8221; it said.

Asif was accused of carrying 0.01 ounces 0.25 grams of opium. The test bowler tested negative for drugs and was not charged, but was questioned by Dubai authorities for drug possession and smuggling while he remained in custody at the airport8217;s detention center.

While detained in Dubai, Asif 8212; a promising fast bowler with 51 wickets in 11 Test matches 8212; was omitted from the national squad for the upcoming Asia Cup limited-overs tournament, which starts in Pakistan on June 24.

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Ashraf said Friday it was 8220;highly unlikely8221; that Asif would be added to the squad now he had been released.

In 2006, Asif and fellow paceman Shoaib Akhtar tested positive for the banned steroid nandrolone. The PCB initially banned the players for one and two years respectively, but the suspensions were overturned on appeal.