Vaibhav AroraEverything associated with cricket in India becomes the talk of the town, be it the cricketers, the clothes they wear, the cars or bikes they keep, or even the people they are linked with. The latest to achieve cult status and become a household name, thanks to cricket, is WADA or the World Anti Doping Agency.
The controversy revolves around the litigious whereabouts clause of the WADA anti-doping code, which requires athletes, in this case cricketers, to disclose their exact location in advance to the anti-doping agency officials.
For a few days now, the governing body of cricket, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has been unsuccessfully trying to persuade the Indian cricketers and members of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to sign the anti-doping code.
The players have refused to comply with the rules, terming these as unfair and something that will jeopardize their privacy and security.
So, what exactly is the WADA anti-doping code, and why are the players so apprehensive about the entire idea.
Founded in 1999, the World Anti Doping Agency was set-up to limit the use of performance enhancing drugs in the world of sports and to offer a fair platform for the athletes to be judged upon. With the backing of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), WADA has been gradually accepted by various sporting bodies across the world. For a sport to be included in prestigious sporting events like the Olympics, it is mandatory for it to be included under the WADA umbrella.
Cricket has been a relatively late entrant in the WADA sphere, being included in 2006, although the ICC has been conducting anti-doping tests in its own capacity since 2002. One of the major reasons for the same was the game’s bid to be included in the Olympics.
Everything was working fine until recently when WADA decided to amend its rules and introduce a special whereabouts clause that required players to disclose their exact location in advance. All the ICC member boards and the players have agreed on the clause except the Indian cricketers.
Although not every International cricketer is required to sign the new WADA code, a set of cricketers in the International Registered Testing Pool, which is determined by their ICC rankings have to agree to the code. Some of the Indian cricketers in the IRTP include Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel and Zaheer Khan.
The Indian cricketers, who have tight schedules, have questioned the feasibility of the entire idea and also argue that disclosing their whereabouts to a third party will endanger their security. Some of the star Indian cricketers including Dhoni and Tendulkar have received death threats from terrorist organizations in the past.
These players, as well as all other falling under the IRTP, are required to provide the officials with their exact whereabouts in advance, which will include everything such as the address of residence, the address of the training areas, the time that the players will spend at these places and also a one hour window every day when the player will be available in case the WADA officials need to perform a random dope test.
Some players are a bit apprehensive because their schedules keep changing frequently and argue that it is very difficult to provide such information in advance. According to the whereabouts clause rules, the players can inform the agency about change in their schedule anytime through SMS or internet on the WADA website. Such information can also be uploaded by another person, who is authorized to do so by the player.
The whereabouts clause also has a provision of punishment in case the athlete provides false information or is not present for a dope test at the place and time specified. The first and second instances are treated as warning while the third such occurrence can invite a ban of one to eight years.
