New Delhi: Sports minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore on Sunday said that the government had no problem if “Indian cricketers were tested by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)” and not the national body. Rathore’s comments came after the international body on Saturday rejected the BCCI’s observation that the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) had no jurisdiction to conduct dope tests on cricketers since the board was not a national sports federation.
The BCCI had added that its present anti-doping system was robust enough. “Cricket is no exception. I am glad that cricket is getting their dope control done through an outside agency but when all the sport bodies of the country trust the NADA, the cricketers can also do that. However, we leave it to the WADA, it is their prerogative as the ICC is a member of it. “When the ICC is registered under WADA, then they have to abide by the doping standards and it’s up to WADA to ensure they get the cricketers dope tested,” he added.
