Rehman fails dope test, out of CLT20

Pakistan left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman failed a dope test during the English county season while playing for Somerset, the Pakistan Cricket Board said on Tuesday. The PCB has withdrawn Rehman from the Sialkot Stallions squad due to play in the Champions League Twenty20 qualifying tournament in South Africa starting on October 9.

"We have withdrawn Rehman's name from the list after the ECB informed us that he had tested positive in a dope test taken in August after a county match," a senior board official said. "Rehman has returned to Pakistan and from what we know his samples came back positive," he added.

The official said that under the rules of the World Anti- Doping Agency, the test results were only released to the player and his home board.

The 32-year-old Rehman, who has played 17 Tests and 25 ODIs, had a successful season for Somerset before returning home. He told a TV channel he did not know why he had failed the dope test as he had taken no prohibited substances or drugs. "I don't know what has happened. I am also in the dark as I don't use medicines or substances," Rehman said.

Sri Lanka opener Upul Tharanga was banned last year for three months after failing a dope test at the 2011 World Cup.

Tharanga was given a three-month ban by the ICC after he appealed that he had unknowingly consumed the banned substance in a herbal remedy for curing an injury problem.

The PCB official said they were still waiting to discuss the issue with Rehman. Pakistani fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif failed dope tests at the 2006 Champions Trophy.

Asif was later banned for five years for spot-fixing and jailed last year for the same offence in the United Kingdom.

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