Internet Desk: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) today made it clear that they won’t follow World Anti-Doping Agency regulations as the parent body of Indian cricket is an autonomous body and affiliated to the International Cricket Council (ICC).
The BCCI released two letters from CEO Rahul Johri to the Secretary of the Department of Sports which states that they don’t come under NADA.
“BCCI would like to assure you that it has a zero tolerance approach to doping in the sport of cricket and is committed to encourage fair play in sports. BCCI follows the highest professional and ethical standards laid down by WADA to ensure that the cricketers compete in a doping-free environment in India,” the letter read.
“BCCI is an autonomous sports organisation affiliated with the International Cricket Council (ICC), which governs the game globally and is a signatory to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code since 2006. Whilst the BCCI acknowledges that NADA is the nodal agency responsible for implementation of anti-doping measures for all National Sports Federations in India, the BCCI is not subject to the jurisdiction of NADA and is required to operate within the rules and regulation set by the ICC” it added.
The Sports Ministry had earlier told that limited co-operation from BCCI on this matter may run the risk of NADA not complying with World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Code. Replying to the same, Johri said that the BCCI’s existing anti-doping mechanism is ‘robust’ enough.
“The BCCI already has a robust dope testing mechanism which is employed for both during competitions and out-of-competitions and the testing of samples by IDTM is already being done at WADA accredited laboratory (NDTL) under aegis of the Sports Ministry. You will appreciate that for analysis and testing of samples, BCCI adheres to the WADA International Standard of Laboratories and the WADA International Standard for Testing and Investigations,” the letter read.