Further cricket controversy followed when in 2008 he was detained in Dubai suspected of having drugs on his person and was then found to have tested positive for a banned substance during the Indian Premier League.

[3][4] On 5 February 2011 a 3-man tribunal, appointed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) gave the verdict that he was to be banned for 7 years, with 2 of those suspended if no further offences were committed.

[8] His father Hasan Deen is a farmer who was against Asif's decision to play professional cricket, preferring instead that his four sons get involved in the family business of agriculture and animal breeding.

[9] Public and media reports in Pakistan surfaced that Asif had married Pakistani actress and model Veena Malik, on 28 May 2009, in a private ceremony in London.

[11] In April 2010, Veena Malik filed a complaint against Asif claiming that he threatened to harm her if she did not stop pursuing her demand that he return the loan of around Rs 14 million he had taken from her.

Attendees included Pakistan Test cricket captain Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan[14] In December 2018, Asif, his wife and their two children were injured in a road accident in Lahore.

After impressing in domestic Pakistani cricket, Asif was fast tracked into the Pakistan test squad and made his first appearance against Australia in January 2005.

Asif returned in the second innings with three clean bowled wickets of Virender Sehwag, Laxman, and Sachin Tendulkar[17] to lead Pakistan to victory.

Kevin Pietersen remembers Asif's spell and recently in talking with Twitter wrote " I think there’s plenty batters around the world that were happy he got banned!

This feat lifted him to eighth in the LG ICC Test player rankings after only nine appearances – equalling the record for the fewest matches taken by a Pakistan bowler to reach the top 10, shared by Waqar Younis and Pervez Sajjad.

"[27] Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer added, "He [Asif] is a modern-day fast bowler based on the likes of [Shaun] Pollock and [Glenn] McGrath.

In the week before the 2007 Twenty20 world cup match in South Africa, Shoaib Akhtar was rumoured to have hit Asif with a bat, leaving a bruise on his left thigh.

Sources said the fight between the two started after Asif and Shahid Afridi disagreed with Shoaib that he shared the same stature as Imran Khan in Pakistan cricket and even ridiculed him for making such a comparison.

[26] Conversely, Asif jointly holds the Test record with five consecutive ducks, an unfortunate honour he shares with Bob Holland and Ajit Agarkar.

[38] In August 2010, the English Sunday newspaper News of the World published allegations that Asif and fellow bowler Mohammad Amir had deliberately bowled no-balls during Pakistan's 2010 tour of England in return for payment from a betting syndicate, a practice known as spot-fixing.

On 1 September 2010, after the warm-up List A game between Pakistan and Somerset, the International Cricket Council announced that they had suspended Asif under the provisions of the ICC's Anti-Corruption Code.

[43] On 16 October 2006, Asif was suspended by the PCB along with teammate Shoaib Akhtar, and was pulled from the Champions Trophy[44] after the pair failed drug tests for the performance-enhancing substance Nandrolone.

Statement by Justice Ebrahim: "This appeal committee [therefore] holds that Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif will not be deemed to have committed a doping offence," Ibrahim said.

[52] The ICC, cricket's world governing body, has supported the WADA appeal adding that it was committed to a dope free game.

When asked to explain the presence of Nandrolone in his body, Asif cited a lack of awareness in Asian countries and said that he had taken some vitamins and protein supplements during the team's 2006 tour of England, which led to the problem.

However, Pakistani officials told cricket sources off the record that the team management had feared that they would fail the doping tests as it was likely traces of Nandrolone were still present in their system.

"[63] His alleged aiders include the Pakistani actress, Veena Malik, who recently claimed that Asif has not returned her loan amounting to PKR 13 million, which was used for his release.

[65] Asif protested his innocence,[66] and his lawyer announced that his 'B' sample would be analysed as per WADA regulations, and he was later suspended from all cricket indefinitely by the PCB.

On 11 February 2009, the IPL confirmed that Asif had tested positive for steroids and subsequently imposed a one-year ban on him, ending on 21 September 2009.