CHENNAI: Finally, the Indian cricket board has fallen in line and, like any other federation in the country, will follow the National Anti-Doping Agency code. After days of sparring between the sports ministry and the board, this was given in writing to the former on Friday during a meeting between sports secretary RS Julaniya and BCCI CEO Rahul Johri.
As reported by TNIE, the ministry was not amused by BCCI’s request to follow NADA rules on a trial basis and insisted that they comply with guidelines in full since it is the rule of law. The ministry had also said that any concerns BCCI had could be brought before them. “We will address it,” the secretary had told TNIE.
The sports secretary was quite pleased with the outcome of the meeting.
“The BCCI team came with a positive mindset and showed keen interest to resolve the issue. They are committed to following the law of the land as mandated by the Govt of India. It is pleasing to see an issue amicably resolved. We have listened to their concerns and will address them accordingly.”
The ministry said that it is committed to addressing the concerns of the BCCI as well. One of the major concerns has been the quality of dope control officers (DCOs). The ministry has been deliberating on this topic for the last month or so.
It is learnt the ministry will be taking care of this by appointing more qualified DCOs and BCOs (blood collection officials) and chaperones with good remuneration. In fact, ads have already been placed on the NADA website. And those DCOs will be professionally trained and can be sent anytime, anywhere.
Another concern before the ministry was the quality of kits. To this, the ministry replied that the BCCI need not worry since they were using WADA-approved kits. However, it is interesting to note that the NADA can now test any cricketer anytime since the players will be governed by the controversial ‘whereabouts clause’, which the cricketers were resisting.
According to the sports secretary, NADA can carry out tests whenever and wherever they want.
“We are a signatory to the WADA code and we will follow WADA in our country. All athletes in this country, irrespective of their origin, all events and all federations are governed by NADA guidelines in India.” Even on delivery of results, the ministry has assured there won’t be any laxity.
