The Sports Ministry of India has issued a letter to BCCI questioning its authority to conduct dope tests. According to Ministry, BCCI’s procedure could lead to a conflict of interest as BCCI owns both steps, i.e. conducting tests and issuing punishments to players.
Sports Ministry wants BCCI to work together with the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) which is a national organization responsible for conducting dope tests for all sports in India.
Currently, BCCI is not authorized by the Indian government, nor by the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) to conduct these tests.
“Article 5.2 of the WADA Code provides for the sampling of athletes only by an Anti-Doping Organisation with testing authority. It is a matter of fact that BCCI is neither an anti-doping organization with testing authority under WADA Code nor it can acquire such a status“, the letter states.
Earlier this Tuesday, BCCI issued an 8-month ban to youngster Prithvi Shaw for violating the anti-dope norms. In a backdated sentence, Shaw was deemed ineligible to participate in any competitive cricket from 16th March 2019 to 15th November 2019.
In response, Shaw accepted his punishment and tweeted,
“Cricket is my life & there is no bigger pride for me than playing for India & Mumbai and I will come out of this faster & stronger.”
— Prithvi Shaw (@PrithviShaw) July 30, 2019
