Reports | Sports ministry will grant no exemptions on anti-doping laws to BCCI

08/07/2019

The Sports Ministry of India has made it clear to the BCCI that the board will not receive any leeway on the issue of implementing anti-doping laws in cricket. The BCCI CEO Rahul Johri reported to meet with the Sports Secretary Radheyshyam Julaniya to manufacture a solution to this issue.

After the ICC had essentially forced the BCCI to accept the proposal from WADA on anti-doping implementations, the Indian cricketing board had instead proposed that the National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) – the national body under WADA – would be allowed to conduct dope tests on cricketers on a short-term trial basis. The BCCI had said that they would decide if the NADA would be given ‘permanent access’ to the players after the results of these trial tests.

However, as per a minister, no such deals will be acceptable.

“The law applies equally to everyone and there can’t be any exceptions,” the minister was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.

An official of the same ministry further added that the BCCI had been informed of the government’s unwillingness to sign any proposal of the sort.

“The BCCI has been told that there is no way the government will sign an agreement or any kind of Memorandum of Understanding with them,” ,” a sports ministry official said, reported Hindustan Times.

The BCCI’s CEO will now meet with Sports Secretary Julaniya in order to find a solution to this stalemate.