Raza Hasan, the left-arm spinner who was last month banned by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for two years after failing a doping test, reportedly told a media conference that he would appeal his ban. Pakistani broadsheet The Nation reported over the weekend that Hasan had held a media conference with his lawyers at Lahore Press Club on Saturday in which he addressed local reporters.

According to the AFP Hasan said that the ban was ‘illegal’ because he had not been given the chance to defend himself, stating that the PCB ‘should have formed a tribunal to hear my point of view’. Hasan is said to have argued that the ban had been imposed without the PCB listening to his side of the story nor giving him a fair chance to explain the situation.

The Nation wrote that Hasan was willing to face any punishment if it was proven that he had used a banned substance, telling reporters that he was asking the PCB to ‘form a judicial tribunal and to hold a proper trial’, and that if he couldn’t defend himself that he was willing to accept any punishment as a consequence. Hasan reportedly said that anti-doping laws were clear that no athlete could be banned for such a long period – two years – until given a proper hearing, which he claims has not yet been the case.

The PCB banned Hasan after failing an in-competition doping test during the domestic Pentangular One-Day Cup in early 2015. The PCB did not name the substance, but Sky Sports News reported that it was cocaine and that the bowler could face a police investigation. The PCB said that Hasan had failed to respond to an adverse analytical finding within a two-week time limit which, under Article 7.7 of the PCB’s Anti-Doping Rules, is tantamount to an admission of guilt.

The PCB has been contacted by the SII for a statement but is yet to respond.