Mumbai: The Indian Premier League (IPL) on Monday rejected the Pakistan Cricket Board’s request to advance the date of commencement of the 12-month ban on Mohammed Asif. The pacer had tested positive for nandrolone during the tournament’s inaugural edition last year.

The IPL Drug Tribunal said that the ban on the Pakistani pacer would commence from September 22, 2008, as that was the date when the suspension came into effect. But the PCB had argued that the player’s doping violation was revealed on July 14, and therefore the ban should be considered to have commenced from the following day, July 15.

“We cannot accept the PCB request because Asif had asked for a B sample test in September.

“So, the IPL Drug Tribunal had gone on that basis and imposed the ban as starting from September 22, 2008,” IPL chairman Lalit Modi told reporters.

“Asif had an option to appeal against the Tribunal’s verdict but he had not done that … The IPL Drug Tribunal has the authority to impose the ban,” he added.

Modi also said that the IPL would from now on be governed by BCCI’s own anti-doping code.