The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is to take up the doping cases of Pakistani fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif with the International Cricket Council.

The two players were exonerated of doping charges on Tuesday by a Pakistani appeals tribunal.

A WADA official told a Pakistani newspaper that the appeals commission's decision appeared to be unreasonable and a violation of the international anti-doping code.

"We have decided to take up the matter with the ICC. My personal view is that the decision taken by the Pakistan Cricket Board panel is unreasonable," WADA official Fredevic Donze was quoted as saying in The News on Wednesday.

The tribunal, headed by a former judge, cleared both players of doping offences and lifted their bans after finding them not guilty of taking the banned substance nandrolone intentionally.

Donze said WADA would first look into the decision of the tribunal before making further comments.

He said WADA had asked its representative in Pakistan to obtain copies of the judgement by the appeals tribunal.

Shoaib and Asif were banned for two years and one year respectively last month by a drug inquiry tribunal. They were called back from the ICC Champions Trophy in India after testing positive.

PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf is due to attend a meeting of the ICC board in Dubai this week, and PCB sources said they are expecting a strong reaction to the Shoaib and Asif cases from the other member countries, particularly Australia.

Australia has been criticised by WADA over its handling of Shane Warne's suspension in 2003 for taking diuretics.