The appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency against the lifting of a ban on Pakistani cricketers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif will be ruled on by the Court of Arbitration for sport within four months.

"As a general rule, the CAS delivers its decisions within four months from the filing of the appeal," the statement issued from Lausanne, Switzerland said.

The original ban against these players was a one year ban for Mohammad Asif and two years for Shoaib Akhtar. The bans were imposed after a detection of metabolite of nandrolone in the urine samples of both these players. That ban was then overturned after both players appealed against it saying they did not take the substances knowingly.

If the World Anti-Doping Agency appeal is unsuccessful then both these players could be back playing for Pakistan in time for the World Cup in March.

There is absolutely no place for drugs in any sport and I am sceptical about these players not "knowingly" knowing what they were taking. Why would you take something without finding out what it was first? However I can see the appeal failing and both these players back for the World Cup because that is the way things seem to work in cricket.