One may be distressed by the thought that the shadow of drugs even overhangs the gentleman’s game of cricket. But the drug menace has hit different kinds of sport. And now the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has taken a firm stand even on cricketers. India’s National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) has been warned that it will lose its accreditation if Indian cricketers refuse to undergo the international dope testing regulations. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has been asked to direct the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) to enforce drug testing on Indian cricketers. The Indian sports minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore has been requested to take a hand in the matter. Should NADA lose its accreditation, the entire sporting life in India will be under attack. The government has given full authority to WADA to enforce drug testing on Indian cricketers. Indian cricketers apparently object to the ‘whereabouts’ clause whereby they are required to give details about where they can be contacted for a one hour window every day for drug testing. They think that the clause threatens their privacy and security. They should realise that what cricketers in other countries accept, they also should.
The BCCI and Indian cricketers have of course been out of line in opposing WADA’s directives. The Supreme Court of India has however ruled that the BCCI is the public body discharging public functions and cricketers cannot be exempted from NADA testing as its disaffiliation will adversely affect other fields of sport. What can be said however is that while there have been cases of drug abuse among internationally famous footballers, cricketers have been untainted except some rumours about English cricketer Ian Botham. But rules are rules.