Indian cricketers will now be tested by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) finally agreed to come under the ambit of NADA
After years of opposition, the BCCI has agreed to adhere to the anti-doping policy of NADA, which allows the latter to test Indian cricketers. Despite being financially autonomous, the BCCI will now become a National Sports Federation (NSF).
Sports Secretary Radheshyam Jhulaniya has stated that the Board has agreed to abide by the norms of NADA in writing. “All cricketers will now be tested by NADA,” he said, after a meeting was held between him, NADA DG Navin Agarwal, BCCI CEO Rahul Johri and the Board’s GM (Cricket Operations) Saba Karim.
“The BCCI raised three issues before us about the quality of the dope testing kits, competence of pathologists and sample collection. We assured them that whatever facilities they want, we will provide but there will be some charge for it. But that higher facility will be equal for all NSFs. BCCI is no different from others. They have to follow the law of the land,” Jhulaniya avowed.
This comes a few days after Indian cricketer Prithvi Shaw was suspended for doping violation. Shaw had “inadvertently ingested a prohibited substance, which can be commonly found in cough syrups”, following which a penalty has been imposed on him. Shaw was suspended until November 15, 2019 after his urine sample had tested positive for the banned substance Terbutaline.
The BCCI had earlier been opposed to signing up with NADA, stating that it is not a National Sports Federation and does not rely on the funding of the government. With the BCCI becoming a NSF, there will be added pressure on the BCCI to come under the Right to Information (RTI) Act as per government norms.
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