When one looks at the career of Mohammad Asif, it is intriguing and tragic. Intriguing because he possessed tremendous skill with the ball and tragic because he was involved in so many off-field controversies. Asif was not blessed with pace but he had metronomic accuracy which made him a potent force. With the ability to swing the ball both in the air and off the wicket, Mohammad Asif was another wonderful bowler who came out of Pakistan's long assembly line of producing fast bowlers, until controversies destroyed him. Asif's debut Test was against Australia at Sydney and it was not a memorable occasion. In 16 fruitless overs, he conceded 72 runs and was carted all around the park. After been dropped, Asif came back into the side for the home series against India. It was in the third Test at Karachi in 2006 where Asif stole the show and established him as a force to be reckoned with. He dismantled the Indian top order ruthlessly and picked up seven wickets in the match to give Pakistan victory. From that point on, Asif was a proven match winner. In the second Test against Sri Lanka in Kandy, Asif is at his lethal best as he takes his first five wicket haul and his first 10 wicket haul in Tests as Pakistan clinch a series win over the Lankans. In two Tests, he had picked up 17 wickets. However, the high was followed by a low as Asif, along with team-mate, Shoaib Akhtar, were suspended by the PCB after both failed a drugs Test for the performance enhancing substance Nandrolone. The PCB handed down a two year ban and both players appealed. The second tribunal cleared them but WADA was unhappy with the decision and they challenged it at the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in Switzerland. The stalemate continued and Asif was left out of the Pakistan squad for the 2007 World Cup. In 2007, the CAS also dropped the case. In 2008, however, Asif was embroiled in another drugs case when he was detained at Dubai Airport on suspicion of possessing illegal drugs. He was forbidden to enter the UAE ever again. In the midst of some controversies, Asif put in some fine performances for Pakistan. During Pakistan's tour to South Africa in 2007, he was the chief destroyer as he snapped up 19 wickets in just three Tests at a wonderful average of 18. During Pakistan's tours to New Zealand and Australia in 2009/10, Asif was in sublime form as he picked up 32 wickets in six Tests. During Pakistan's tour to England in 2010, Asif picked up his 100th wicket in just his 20th Test and looked set for greater glory until the calamity at Lords in September. In an investigation by the News of the World tabloid, Asif, along with team-mates Mohammad Aamer and Salman Butt, were accused of spot-fixing. Asif was charged for bowling pre-planned deliberate no-balls. In February 2011, Asif was convicted at Southwark Crown Court for conspiracy to cheat at gambling and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments. He was sentenced to one year in prison and he was banned from the sport for seven years. However, Asif appealed unsuccessfully to reduce the years of suspension in the Court of Arbitration for Sport, after it was rejected in April 2013, he went on to admit that he was involved in spot-fixing in August 2013. by Siddharth Vishwanathan As of April 2014