Karachi: The Pakistan Cricket Board-appointed appellate tribunal today (Dec 5, 2006) lifted the doping ban on fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif but left it to the Board to decide if they could play in the ongoing one-day international series against the West Indies.

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 PCB to decide whether the two pace bowlers could be fielded in the one-day international series against the West Indies which commenced today at Rawalpindi.

Shoaib and Asif were banned in early November by a drugs inquiry tribunal appointed by the PCB after both bowlers tested positive for a banned steroid nandrolone in an out-of-competition dope test conducted by the Board before the Champions Trophy in India.

The duo was withdrawn from the tournament before Pakistan's first match by the Board to face the drugs inquiry tribunal headed by Barrister Shahid Hamid which banned Shoaib for two years and Asif for one year.

Shoaib and Asif had pleaded their innocence to the charges of taking the substance intentionally to enhance their performance and recover quickly from recent injuries.

They filed their appeals within the seven days time frame stipulated by the tribunal.