Mohammad Asif has been suspended by the Pakistan board for testing positive for a banned substance during random drug tests conducted during the Indian Premier League. To make it worse for Asif, the Pakistan board has refused to assist him in the matter, though he has the right to appeal against the suspension. Asif has said he will ask for a testing of his B sample. The board also said it would go by the decision taken by the IPL's drug tribunal. He also explained the PCB's decision to not provide assistance to Asif. If he is left to fight for himself this time, it will signal a distinct change in the board's policy. In 2006, Asif and Shoaib Akhtar had their bans overturned after successfully appealing to an independent committee against the original punishments. Though they escaped on a technicality, it was widely speculated that the decision had the PCB's complicit support. Asif, who said he was "shocked and surprised" at failing the test, has asked for his B sample to be examined. This is Asif's second drug offence since failing a dope test before the Champions Trophy in 2006, and the board has warned that a life ban is possible if he is found guilty. Last month he was detained in Dubai for 19 days under suspicion of possessing a contraband substance and is already the subject of a board inquiry into those events. While the PCB has chosen to distance itself from the current controversy, it hasn't stopped former Pakistan cricketers from lashing out at its functioning. Aamer Sohail, a former captain, has blamed the board for not taking appropriate action against doping after Asif and Shoaib tested positive for Nandrolone, a banned substance, in 2006. The IPL had announced that Asif's sample was positive after comparing the result from the WADA-approved laboratory in Switzerland with the data collected by IDTM, the Sweden-based independent agency that organised the tests.