Monday, August 3, 2009

Sports minister opposed BCCI's take on WADA

MS Gill

NEW DELHI: It must be a shocking news for the BCCI as the Union Sports Minister MS Gill supported the controversial the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) whereabout clause. On Monday, the minister said that Indian cricketers ought to follow the rules of the WADA. He was speaking to the reporters on the sidelines of the state sports ministers' conference here.

Gill emphasised that the ministry had agreed with WADA regulatory testing and they adhere to that. He said that most of the world's sportspersons have already signed it. There is nothing like reveling players personal life or privacy. The "whereabout" clause of the WADA code has ruffled many feathers here with the BCCI convening an emergency working committee meeting in Mumbai, on Sunday, attended by India captain MS Dhoni and senior players Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh.

After the meeting, BCCI President Shashank Manohar said the Board had no issues with out-of-competition testing of the 11 cricketers in the WADA pool but the "whereabout" clause was not only an infringement of their privacy but also posed security risks.The BCCI has asked ICC, a WADA signatory, to explore the possibilities of having a separate anti-doping mechanism of its own. Gill, however, felt that WADA was championing a good cause and every one should support its bid for a dope-free world. "We should support WADA in its cause.

The world is concerned about doping and we should support WADA," Gill said. "We have set up a dope testing laboratory next to Nehru Stadium and now Sweden is also sending samples of their players for testing. We should be proud of it," Gill added.

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