The National Anti-Doping Agency – NADA – will be following the Indian Premier League tour party to the United Arab Emirates. The doping watchdog is reportedly planning to conduct 50 tests during the 53-day tournament in the UAE.
NADA is planning to set up five dope control stations in the UAE – at the match venues in Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi as well as ICC Academy, Dubai, and Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi, training venues.
NADA, reports national daily Times of India, has finalised its programme for the IPL 2020. to be held in UAE from September 19 to November 10.
The dope control officers will conduct in-competition testing only at the venues. The agency has planned to collect 50 samples during the tournament, NADA Director-General Navin Agarwal has told the daily. The testing, which will also include blood samples, is likely to cover some of the top stars like Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma.
The NADA will be sending three different teams to the UAE with the first scheduled to arrive in the first week of September. The officials will be tested for COVID-19 ahead of the departure from India and on their arrival in the UAE.
Since the Board of Control for Cricket in India is strictly following the one-week quarantine protocol on arrival in the UAE, the NADA officials may also be asked to serve the mandatory isolation period before they are allowed to enter the bio-secure bubble and collect samples.