‘I was reluctant to join NADA’

NEW DELHI: His absence from the hearings of a NADA panel raising eyebrows, former India opener Virender Sehwag Tuesday said he was reluctant to be a part of the committee and joined only because Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore had requested.
Sehwag said he always felt that only Olympians should have been on the committee and not cricketers. Sehwag, who was inducted into the six-member Anti Doping Appeals Panel (ADAP) of NADA in November 2017, has not been able to attend any hearing till date. “I feel former Olympians should be a part of the NADA panels. The sportspersons in Olympic categories are more in sync with working procedure of NADA,” said Sehwag. “The Olympians know more than someone like me about anti-doping codes. I was initially reluctant about being a part of the panel,” Sehwag, who is known to speak his mind, said.
“I have always been a part of BCCI and I have rarely undergone dope tests, save the ICC tournaments that we played. So I have no hesitation in admitting that my knowledge is limited,” He added. Sehwag said that he decided to join the NADA only after a request from Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore. (PTI)