Doping watchdog serves notice to Pujara, Jadeja, Rahul

National Ant-Doping Agency (NADA) has served notices to five India cricketers, including two women’s national team players, for not disclosing their whereabouts during the nationwide.

It was mandatory for the players to update their whereabouts online even as the country was in lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has come in defense of the five centrally contracted players – Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma. The board has said that the players failed to disclose their whereabouts on time due to a “password glitch”.

NADA Director General Navin Agarwal confirmed to national news agency PTI that BCCI has sent an official explanation for its five contracted players’ failure to submit whereabouts.

“There are two ways to fill up the whereabouts form in the ADAMS (Anti-Doping Administration & Management Systems) software. Either athlete does it himself or association fills it on his or her behalf,” Agarwal said.

“Now athletes in some discipline aren’t educated enough or do not have access to internet and find themselves unable to handle the whereabouts clause of the ADAMS or upload the filled up form. They use the assistance of their concerned federations. So federations have accepted the responsibility of uploading their whereabouts,” Agarwal added.

“Similarly in cricket also, although these people are well qualified and they can do it, perhaps they don’t have the time for whatever reasons, so the federation concerned, the BCCI has taken upon itself the responsibility of uploading their whereabouts,” he said.

NADA DG seems to have accepted the BCCI explanation in principal for failure to update the players updates. But the procedure will be followed before exonerating the board or the players. “Well they have given an explanation which appears to be reasonable but a decision will be taken. They have said that there has been a glitch with regards to password in ADAMS. Now they have said that issue has been resolved.”

NADA DG added that “BCCI’s explanation will be discussed as to whether it will be counted as one of three filing failures or not. It will be decided on the explanation given and how they (BCCI) proceed from here.”

Three such failures to disclose leads to one Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) can lead up to two years of suspension upon hearing.

Admin Sportz Front

Read Previous

Odisha FC signing spree continues; East Bengal defender roped in

Read Next

Court restricts BCCI from appointing administrator in DDCA