Published: May 28, 2017, 05:22 PM (IST)
Edited: May 28, 2017, 05:22 PM (IST)
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) defended their policy on anti-doping on Saturday by saying that they adopted the rules of World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) instructed by International Cricket Council (ICC). BCCI defended themselves after an objection made by Navin Agarwal, director general of National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA), who said that BCCI’s anti-doping operations are “unsupervised and not transparent.”
As reported by Cricbuzz, BCCI’s general manager Ratnakar Shetty made a statement on NADA’s remark over board’s policy on anti-doping and said, “The BCCI anti-doping code is updated annually and can be found on the BCCI as well as IPL website. The BCCI has adopted certain rules to impose prohibitions and controls to maintain the integrity of the sport, to protect the health and rights of all the participants in cricket and to keep the sport of cricket free from doping. Since 2010, BCCI has been conducting pre-season anti-doping education programmes for cricketers and support staff of state associations.”
“The BCCI files whereabouts information of the top 11 cricketers in the country based on the latest ICC player rankings. The information is submitted on WADA’s anti-doping administration and management system (ADAMS). We get our samples tested at the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) in New Delhi. The laboratory sends the test report to BCCI and a copy is sent to ICC and WADA to ensure accountability. So where do we lack in transparency?” Shetty questioned.
Shetty then termed Agarwal’s statement as “irresponsible” and adviced NADA chief to confirm facts with BCCI first then made their view public.
Moreover, NADA’s plans of testing domestic cricketers proposal was criticised by board by saying, “We are already doing it. We commenced testing at the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008 while testing at other domestic tournaments – Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy etc. started during 2012-13. Since then, BCCI has been collecting 200-250 urine samples each season (both in competition and out-of-competition). As per WADA, 2013 and 2015 anti-doping testing figures documents, BCCI conducts the maximum number of tests amongst all the cricket nations. If NADA is keen on testing domestic cricketers, they will have to first approach us with the proposal. We will respond to it then.”
When asked over BCCI’s chance of considering NADA’s jurisdiction and it suggestion, Shetty straight away denied with a logical answer, “We are an autonomous sports body. We have never been part of NADA. We have made it clear from the time we introduced the testing system that we are answerable to WADA and ICC. We are doing everything WADA wants. We are affiliated to ICC and implement their instructions.”
