BCCI’s refusal of NADA could leave India with no WADA-accredited agency for athletes
BCCI’s noncompliance with NADA could result in its disaffiliation from the world body, WADA, which would prove detrimental for the global participation of Indian sports. The BCCI has objected to one of the clauses in WADA's code calling it an infringement of players’ privacy and a security hazard.
It was during an audit of the National Anti-Doping Agency’s (NADA) anti-doping programme, conducted by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), in April earlier this year, when the world body found that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) neither recognizes the authority of NADA nor does it permit the WADA-affiliated body to implement any anti-doping regime in cricket.
The incident has since snowballed into a serious issue with WADA's Director General Olivier Niggli writing to India’s Sports Minister, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, seeking ‘urgent assistance’ and also informing that BCCI’s noncompliance could result in NADA getting disaffiliated from the world body. NADA losing its affiliation with WADA would impact Indian sports negatively in terms of its participation in global sports.
Apparently, Rathore has wasted no time since the letter and has directed former sports secretary Injeti Srinivas, who was at the helm then before being transferred to the corporate affairs ministry, to take up the matter with BCCI officials.
In his letter to CoA, Srinivas has written, “NADA's anti-doping rules, which were approved by the Cabinet, give it full jurisdiction and authority to implement the anti-doping measures with respect to all sports in India, including cricket. Therefore, kindly intervene and facilitate NADA to implement the anti-doping programme with respect to cricket in India with the full cooperation of the BCCI.”
After ICC came under the ambit of WADA in 2006, BCCI has no authority to object WADA’s protocols. However, the cricket body, which has been ignoring communication with the sports ministry and NADA, has primary objection is to Wada's "whereabouts" clause, which allows for the out-of-competition testing of cricketers.
The players haven’t been comfortable sharing details of where they can be contacted for a one-hour window every day - when not playing competitively - citing infringement of privacy and security issues. BCCI, hence, has engaged a private dope testing agency - International Dope Tests and Management (IDTM) - for collecting cricketers' blood and urine samples, which is not recognized by NADA.
"There are two things to understand. One, BCCI is not a private entity...it's a public body discharging public functions as ordered by the Supreme Court. Also, the ICC is the parent body of the BCCI. After ICC became a Wada signatory in 2006, NADA sees no reason behind BCCI's objection to becoming its signatory. If BCCI does not act this time, it could find itself in serious trouble," TOI quoted a source saying.