BCCI rejects NADA demand of testing Indian cricketers

The Board has contended that NADA had no jurisdiction to conduct the dope tests since the BCCI was not a National Sports Federation (NSF).

CEO Rahul Johri (in pic) said BCCI's existing anti-doping mechanism was robust enough.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has expectedly rejected the move by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) to bring it under the latter’s jurisdiction for dope-testing in domestic cricket.

The Board has contended that NADA had no jurisdiction to conduct the dope tests since the BCCI was not a National Sports Federation (NSF).

The Board’s CEO, Rahul Johri, recently wrote to NADA chief Navin Agarwal: “It is relevant to mention here that the BCCI is not a National Sports Federation. Accordingly, NADA does not have jurisdiction to conduct dope testing of Indian cricketers in any domestic or international event organised by or under the aegis of BCCI. In light of the aforesaid, there is no requirement for any BCCI official to co-ordinate with NADA for dope testing of Indian cricketers either during competitions or out of completions.”

READ: Sehwag drafted into NADA panel

A senior Board official added, “We follow the mandate set by the International Cricket Council (ICC) which is WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) compliant and we have an adequate anti-doping system in place.”

The Board was also reacting to a communication from the Union Sports Ministry which had claimed that not adhering to NADA rules would invite sanction from the WADA.

The Board’s response was, “You will appreciate that for analysis and testing of samples, the BCCI adheres to the WADA International Standards for Laboratories and the WADA International Standards for Testing and Investigations. Accordingly, the BCCI has engaged the services of the same expert sample collection agency that is also engaged by the ICC to provide sample collection services, viz., International Doping Tests and Management (IDTM).”

Johri also pointed out, “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.”

The ICC is a WADA Code-compliant sports body despite its position related to the BCCI rules being at variance with the Code, and all other WADA regulations regarding domestic testing in any sport. The WADA rules do not provide for a role to a National federation in domestic testing or results management.

The ICC template for National federations acknowledges the authority of a NADO at the national level but the BCCI rules are silent on NADA’s role.