It is no secret that the Board of Control for Cricket inIndia (BCCI) and the Sports Ministry don't see eye to eye and it has beenlearnt that days before the whole Prithvi Shaw fiasco unfolded, the governmenthad come down heavily on the Indian cricket board and its anti-doping set-up.
According to a report in Indian Express, the Sports Ministrywrote a letter to BCCI CEO Rahul Johri and said that its anti-doping programmelacked robustness and also mentioned conflict of interest since the BCCI doesthe testing itself and hands out punishment accordingly. It added that the BCCIdoes not have the right to conduct dope tests on players as it is notauthorised by the government or the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA).
"Article 5.2 of WADA Code provides for sampling ofathletes only by an Anti-Doping Organisation with testing authority. It is amatter of fact that BCCI is neither an anti-doping organisation with testingauthority under WADA Code nor it can acquire such a status," the letterthat was sent on June 26 read.
The BCCI has continued to argue with the government andavoided signing up with the National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) for a long timenow. BCCI's unwillingness to comply despite all other sports and sportspersonsin the country following the rules chalked out by NADA has made matters worse.
BCCI's stance has always been that NADA has its flaws andthat is why they do not want to sign up with the agency. They also feel thatsince the BCCI is not a government-funded organisation, it cannot be subjectedunder NADA’s jurisdiction.
