Indian cricketers will now be tested by National Anti-Doping Agency

Agencies
August 9, 2019

New Delhi, Aug 9: Ending years of defiance, Indian cricket's governing body, the BCCI, on Friday agreed to come under the ambit of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA), becoming a National Sports Federation in the process despite being financially autonomous.

Sports Secretary Radheshyam Jhulaniya, who along with NADA DG Navin Agarwal met BCCI CEO Rahul Johri along with the Board's GM (Cricket Operations) Saba Karim here on Friday, said that the Board has given in writing that it would adhere to the anti-doping policy of NADA.

"All cricketers will now be tested by NADA," Jhulaniya said.

The implication of this development is expected to be massive as BCCI now becomes a designated NSF and will face more pressure to come under the Right To Information (RTI) Act as per government norms.

"The BCCI raised three issues before us about the quality of the dope testing kits, competence of pathologists and sample collection. We assured them that whatever facilities they want, we will provide but there will be some charge for it. But that higher facility will be equal for all NSFs. BCCI is no different from others. They have to follow the law of the land," Jhulaniya said.

"The BCCI will agree to the law of the land," said Johri, adding, "We have raised quite a few issues which the sports Secretary said will be addressed by them. We have agreed to bear the differential cost of high-quality testing."

The BCCI had been vehemently opposed to signing up with NADA, claiming that it is an autonomous body, not a National Sports Federation and does not rely on government funding.

The primary concern was the contentious 'Whereabouts Clause' with regards to Out of Competition Testing, something that all star India players have been wary of as they considered it an invasion of their privacy.

The 'Whereabouts Clause' requires every athlete to fill up a declaration form wherein he/she would have to mention three specific dates in a year when they are not competing but are available for NADA's Dope Control Officer (DCO) for sample collection.

If any athlete fails to appear on all the specified dates, it invites sanctions for breach of the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) Code. The premier example of this is West Indies' all-rounder Andre Russell who was banned for one year by the Jamaican Anti-Doping Agency.

Till date, Sweden-based International Dope Testing Management (IDTM) has been collecting the samples and submitting them to the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL).

"IDTM IS no longer the authorised agency," Jhulaniya asserted.

Earlier, the sports ministry has steadfastly maintained that the BCCI had to come under the NADA ambit.

It recently held back clearances for the tours by South Africa A and women's teams and it was speculated that this was done to pressurise the BCCI into accepting anti-doping norms.

The move seems to have worked as Johri confirmed that the cricket board has now got clearance for the A as well as the women's series after having waited for close to six months.

"We have received the clearance," Johri said.

BCCI's fresh stance makes it clear that Johri got the go ahead from the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA), headed by Vinod Rai, to sign the agreement on dotted lines.

Earlier in March, the BCCI had agreed to get into a conditional tri-partite agreement with NADA and ICC. Jhulaniya had, however, made it clear that the Board cannot sign any agreement with a government body without the ministry's consent.

NADA hadn't signed that previous agreement in which the BCCI stated that their "chaperons" will collect the samples instead of NADA's designated DCOs. The Board said it didn't trust NADA DCOs "due to stories of goof-ups that consistently appear".

With the BCCI officially coming under the NADA ambit, the possibility of agreeing to RTI is becoming more and more real even though Johri sidestepped the query.

"The RTI issue is a different subject altogether. It was not in today's meeting agenda," Johri said.

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News Network
February 21,2020

Sydney, Feb 21: Leg-spinner Poonam Yadav bowled a magical spell in her comeback game to steer India to a comfortable 17-run win over defending champions Australia in the opening match of the Women's T20 World Cup on Friday.

Put in to bat, India struggled to a below par 132 before Poonam (4/19 in 4 overs) foxed the Aussies with her googlies, turning the match decisively into her team's favour.

Australia, who have won the competition four times in six editions, were all out for 115 in 19.5 overs

"A bowler like Poonam is someone who leads from the front. We were expecting a great comeback from her. Our team is looking nice, earlier we depended on two-three players," India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur said after the match.

Poonam, who missed the preceding tri-series due to a hand injury, also got good support from other bowlers including pacer Shikha Pandey.

The 28-year-old from Agra was on a hat-trick but narrowly missed out as wicketkeeper Taniya Bhatia dropped a difficult chance.

The tournament-opener saw a record 13,000 plus attendance with a sizeable chunk supporting India.

India next play against Bangladesh in Perth on February 24.

"It was great for me to come back from injury and perform like this. It was the third time that I was on a hat-trick but satisfied that I was able to do the job for the team," said Poonam at the post-match presentation.

Australia were off to a good start to their chase with opener Alyssa Healy making a 35-ball 51, laced with six boundaries and a six.

However, Indian spinners led by Poonam triggered a collapse as Australia suddenly slipped to 82 for six.

Poonam (4/19) snapped four wickets, two in successive deliveries in the 12th over, to break the back of Australia's chase.

Ashleigh Gardner (34 off 36) tried her bit but didn't get any support from the other end.

Earlier, India squandered a flying start to end up with a below-par total.

Sixteen-year-old Shafali Verma took India to 40 for no loss in four overs with a typically aggressive 29 off 15 balls but her fall derailed the innings as the other batters disappointed.

Deepti Sharma made a composed 46-ball 49 in the second half of the innings but the firepower that India needed in the death overs was badly missing.

India were cruising initially with Shafali taking the opposition to the cleaners, hitting five fours and a six.

However, left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen (2/24) snapped two quick wickets, Smriti Mandhana (10 off 11) and Harmanpreet (2 off 5) to reduce India to 47 for three.

Deepti then shared 53 runs with Jemimah Rodrigues (26 off 33) to bring up the 100 in the 16th over.

For Australia, Ellyse Perry (1/15) and Delissa Kimmince (1/24) were the other wicket-takers.

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News Network
May 9,2020

May 9: Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar has donated an undisclosed amount to financially help 4,000 underprivileged people, including children from Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) schools, amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tendulkar made the donation to the Hi5 Foundation, a non-profit organisation based out of Mumbai.

“Best wishes to team Hi5 for your efforts in supporting families of daily wage earners,” Tendulkar tweeted.

The organisation, through a tweet, thanked Tendulkar for doing his bit for the needy.

“Thanks @sachin_rt for proving once again that #sports encourages compassion! Your generous donation towards our #COVID19 fund enables us to financially aid 4000 underprivileged people, including children from @mybmc schools. Our budding sportspersons thank you, Little Master!”

The legendary batsman had earlier contributed Rs 25 lakh each to Prime Minister’s Relief Fund and Chief Minister’s Relief Fund for the country’s fight against COVID-19. Tendulkar had earlier pledged to bear the cost of feeding 5,000 people for a month in a couple of areas in Mumbai.

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News Network
January 22,2020

New Delhi, Jan 22: The pitches in New Zealand have become a lot more batting-friendly over the years, says iconic former batsman Sachin Tendulkar, insisting that India have the “ammunition” to trouble the sprightly hosts during the upcoming series.

Tendulkar, who has been on a record five New Zealand tours since 1990, feels that from seaming tracks during his early trips years, the tracks became high-scoring hard ones during his last tour back in 2009.

“Of late, the Tests in New Zealand have been high scoring and surfaces have changed,” Tendulkar told PTI during an exclusive interview.

India will play five T20 Internationals, three ODIs and two Tests during the tour starting with the shortest format on January 24.

From 2002, when India played ODIs and Tests on green tops, to 2009, when India won only their second Test series in 32 years, Tendulkar has seen it all in New Zealand.

“I remember when we played in 2009, the Hamilton pitch was different compared to other pitches. Other pitches got harder (Wellington and Napier) but not Hamilton. It remained soft.

“But Napier became hard with passage of time (where Gautam Gambhir scored an epic match-saving 12-hour hundred in 2009). So, from my first tour (in 1990 till 2009), I realised pitches got harder with passage of time,” Tendulkar said.

Tendulkar is confident that the Indian bowling attack, spearheaded by Jasprit Bumrah, has the ammunition to put New Zealand in trouble.

“We have a good bowling attack with quality fast bowlers as well as spinners. I believe we have the ammunition to compete in New Zealand.”

However, in Wellington, Tendulkar wants the team to be well-prepared to counter the breeze factor.

“Wellington, I have played and it makes a huge difference if you are bowling with the wind or against the wind. The batsman needs to be judicious in the choice of which end he wants to attack, it is very important,” he said.

Tendulkar said he would prefer spinners to bowl against the breeze.

“...the seamers bowling against the strong breeze need to be smart. So I would prefer that if there is strong breeze, let the spinner bowl from that end and from the opposite end, the fast bowler bowls with the breeze behind him,” he said.

The maestro is confident that Rohit Sharma's white ball experience will hold him in good stead in the Tests as well, an assignment that has been kept for the last leg of the trip, which begins with five T20 Internationals from January 24.

“The challenge would be to go out and open in different conditions. I think Rohit had opened in New Zealand in ODIs and has been there quite a few times, he knows the conditions well. Eventually, Test cricket is Test cricket,” he said.

“But all depends on surfaces that they provide. If they provide green tops, then it's a challenge.”

There is no Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Deepak Chahar in limited-overs series but Tendulkar is not ready to press the panic button.

“Injuries are part and parcel of the game when you play and push your body to the limits.

“When you play for your country you need to give your best and while you give your best, you can get injured. That's okay,” he concluded.

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