BCCI agrees to NADA trial, on own terms
MUMBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) seemed to have taken a step towards convincing BCCI to become World Antidoping Agency (WADA) compliant, although their agreement on Monday did not seem to answer a few key issues.
According to a senior BCCI official, the Indian board is set to work with the National Anti-doping Agency (NADA) for six months on a trial basis. The decision, he said, was made after ICC chairman Shashank Manohar met the Supreme Court appointed-committee of Administrators in Mumbai on Monday.
A tripartite agreement between ICC, BCCI and NADA will see samples of the registered pool of players go to the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) in Delhi. The agency, according to the BCCI official, can collect samples from 10% of BCCI’S registered pool of players.
However, there is still no clarity on whether the sample collection will be done by the Swedish company IDTM, which BCCI has been using so far. If it does, then Monday’s agreement will mean little. The international norm across WADA compliant sports is to collect samples only under the supervision of NADA or WADA officials. Board officials want the sample collection to be done by the BCCI and handed over to NADA, which would raise questions on the sanctity of the process.
NADA DG Navin Agarwal, however, said: “The crucial aspect of who (which player) is to be tested, when he has to be tested and for what, that decision the testing authority (NADA) takes.”
ICC has been trying to persuade BCCI to become Wadacompliant like other boards, but the world’s richest body has refused to fall in line, mainly citing player security and privacy. BCCI sticks to its own testing arrangement, citing its mistrust of NADA’S procedure over instances of its sample collection goof-ups.
BCCI’S mistrust is due to the high number of dope positives among Indian athletes. In 2012, there were over 240 positives, reflecting a poor awareness programme and hinting at collusion in the doping of players. In 2013, India was rated the third worst country in doping. There were three positives between 2010 and 2018 in Indian cricket.
Agarwal said, “If the BCCI has any concerns we are ready to address them.” He said NADA is yet to be intimated.
An expert said the whereabouts clause was a sticking point. “It requires the cricketers to disclose their location to the International Sports Federation (IF), or in India’s case NADA. The are reasons for players’ reluctance: it’s difficult to get three months’ calendar and we must consider the security of stars like Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni.”
However, as per the whereabouts rules, testers can visit for sample collection only during one hour specified by an athlete, between 6 am and 11pm. But if a player misses three tests or fails to file whereabouts in 18 months, then it constitutes a doping violation and can result in a two-year ban.
ICC’S bid to bring India into the fold is due to the push to get cricket in the 2028 Olympics.
The old guard in BCCI is not keen to see cricket in the Olympics or other multi-sport events. A senior BCCI official said the Board can’t be pushed under NADA jurisdiction as it is not a national federation but an autonomous body.
An expert cited FIFA and AFC. “They do their own testing and education programme. They don’t allow any interference in dope testing (from WADA or NADA).”