The Union ministry of sports has directed National Anti Doping Agency to enforce the World Anti Doping Code with full force on cricket after World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) wrote to it regarding non-compliance by the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
Speaking to THE WEEK, Rahul Bhatnagar, secretary, ministry of youth affairs and sports said, “Yes, a letter has been received by the ministry from WADA complaining about non-compliance in cricket. I have spoken to Director General of NADA Naveen Aggarwal and instructed him to enforce the WADA code in its entirety on Indian cricket.” Henceforth, NADA will conduct random tests during domestic and international cricket matches being played in India.
When asked that BCCI claims it is compliant with WADA code and reports to the ICC, Bhatnagar said that since the letter was addressed to the sports ministry it will go ahead and ensure testing is done. “If BCCI objects at any point to tests being conducted by NADA, we will deal with it at that time. As of now, NADA will proceed with tests as per the WADA code on Indian cricketers.”
The controversy arose after WADA recently published a report saying that one cricketer from India has been tested positive for doping. The BCCI follows a modified whereabouts system for only its elite cricketers and also shares its findings directly with WADA and ICC bypassing NADA, the nodal agency for anti doping in India. BCCI is also not a fully recognised national sports federation but is deemed recognised by the sports ministry as it has to seek its permission for tournaments to be played in India.
The matter which was flagged by WADA is from the previous 2016 season and as per confirmed reports from relevant organisations, the "matter has been dealt with." The BCCI has not revealed the name thus far of the player involved.
In May earlier this year, NADA had raised its objections to BCCI hiring a foreign agency for testing cricketers in IPL and other tournaments. NADA has been unhappy with a foreign agency being used for sample collection even though all testing is conducted at the National Dope Testing Laboratory in New Delhi, which is WADA-approved and accredited. “NDTL is testing samples collected but those were not done under the supervision of NADA. BCCI may have a foreign agency doing the sample collection, but that agency is sued in ICC events. As per rules of the country, national sports federations call NADA for all domestic competitions. If BCCI are getting samples collected for domestic events on their own, there could be a conflict of interest, which should not be there. We do not have access to the data,” a top NADA official had told THE WEEK then.
However, the Indian cricket board had reiterated that it follows a transparent system of dope testing in domestic cricket and that it was fully conforming with rules of anti doping. BCCI uses the services of IDTM―a WADA-approved agency for conducting tests.
