NEW DELHI: India’s cricket board and players were under pressure on Monday to drop their stand not to accept the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) “whereabouts” rule.
The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) chief and India’s sports minister urged the national cricketers to fall in line, a day after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) backed its players’ refusal to sign up due to security and privacy issues.
The Indian cricketers missed the Aug. 1 deadline to comply with the regulations, arguing that the whereabouts clause was “unreasonable.” OCA secretary-general Randhir Singh dismissed the concerns.
“The players must fall in line with the WADA clause,” Singh tsaid on Monday. “The international body (ICC) recognizes the code. They should look into the problem and solve it.”
Sports minister Manohar Singh Gill added: “Everybody should follow what the world system is, and happily follow it.”
“All the sports federations have fallen in line with the WADA code,” he told reporters. “If anybody has any technical argument they should certainly take it up with WADA, and I’m sure it will try to adjust.
“But that will be done, as I can guess, not for one set of people. It will be done for the sportsmen of the world.”
The BCCI has said some of its players cannot reveal their whereabouts as they had security cover due to militant threats.
Players have to inform the designated official where they would be for one hour daily, up to three months in advance.
“Security is not only for these 10 or 11 players, it is there for thousands of other sportsmen around the world,” Singh said. “We must follow rules and regulations, not try and create any controversy this time.”
Adherence to the WADA rules has become even more important with cricket part of the 2010 Asian Games program, but Singh was confident India would comply with the doping clause soon.
“I don’t think the issue will go that far,” he said. “It looks like a question of misunderstanding. I hope the BCCI will be able to explain it to them and the issue will be over soon.
“The players should understand there is no draconian law going against them.”
The ICC became a WADA signatory in 2006 and its board last year unanimously approved out-of-competition tests on cricketers in accordance with amendments made by WADA to the code.
All other cricketing nations have accepted the WADA rules. The rules state that three missed disclosures of whereabouts in an 18-month period could result in a two-year ban from international cricket.
