Will Indian cricketers become pariahs of world sport after rejecting a clause in the new global anti-doping rules? Cricket historian Boria Majumdar finds out.
Indian cricketers say the doing test law invades their privacy
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India’s potential isolation is the big question being raised after its players disagreed with the “whereabouts system” set up by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada).
Under this rule, players around the world reveal where they are for one hour of every single day.
Indian cricketers say this system infringes upon their privacy. Also, some of them say it is “risky” for them to disclose their whereabouts round the year.
Wada’s 2009 code specifies that sportspersons must be available seven rather than five days a week and that they are present for the whole of the hour, not just part of it. The times of day between which they can specify their location have also been restricted.
India’s cricketers will be suspended from international competitions for two years if they miss the deadline to sign up with Wada three times in a row.
Their stance against the rule has been backed by the country’s cricket board – this despite the fact that the International Cricket Council became a Wada signatory in 2006 and its board last year unanimously approved out-of-competition tests on cricketers.
Privacy
Accordingly, players from all other major cricket nations have also signed up.
The “whereabouts system” has not been criticised by Indian cricketers alone.
Star footballers, tennis players and athletes around the world have expressed their reservations citing privacy issues. But they have all signed up to follow the rule.
The list includes superstars like tennis players Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, champion sprinter Usain Bolt and star swimmer Michael Phelps.
To date, 571 sports federations representing almost all disciplines from 191 countries have signed up to the anti-doping regulation.
Some Indian cricketers have heavy security
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Added to this list are representatives from every Test playing country and also the federation of international cricketers, formed to protect cricketers’ interests, have complied with the Wada rules.
Even in India, other sportsmen say they have no problems with the Wada rules.
Shooter Abhinav Bindra, the country’s only individual Olympic gold medallist, has been abiding by Wada regulations for more than five years and believes that the confrontation a non-issue.
For many like him, signing up to the Wada norms is a fundamental reality of modern global sport.
In such circumstances, the Indian cricket board’s obduracy could pose serious problems to cricket’s plans to position itself as a global sport.
Only a few months have passed since cricketers from around the world called for cricket’s inclusion in the Olympics.
But one of the pre-requisites to becoming an Olympic sport is acceptance of Wada norms.
The refusal of India’s cricketers to sign up to Wada rules and the endorsement by the country’s cricket authorities mirror the realities of Indian sport.
Filed under: Cricket , become, Cricket, cricket in india, cricketers, indian cricket
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