New Delhi: In a pathbreaking move, the Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore-led Sports Ministry has directed the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) to conduct dope test on cricketers during domestic and international tournaments held in India, The Times of India has reported.
The move will allow NADA to enforce World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) Code in all its "fairness and entirety" on the BCCI.
According to TOI, NADA has been given "full authority and powers" to send 'dope control officers' (DCOs) to tournaments conducted by the BCCI to collect in-competition blood and urine samples.
A previous report by the newspaper revealed that WADA had asked ICC to put pressure on BCCI and make Indian cricketers available for dope-testing by NADA. WADA reportedly also warned of cancelling NADA's accreditation if BCCI was not made compliant.
"I have instructed NADA's director general (Navin Agarwal) to send his DCOs to cricket tournaments in India to collect the samples of cricketers. If the BCCI resists or creates any hurdle in NADA's functioning, we won't hesitate from taking further action against the cricket board," secretary sports, Rahul Bhatnagar, told TOI on Saturday.
"We will first start with in-competition testing during matches played in India. Then, we will gradually move forward. If the BCCI has not responded to NADA's previous mails, (it) doesn't mean we (Sports Ministry) will stop discharging our duties. Let them first stop us from conducting dope tests. We will see what more needs to be done. The important thing is we will conduct testing within our parameters and rules and regulations as stipulated in the WADA Code," Bhatnagar further said.
