Dope test scandal rocks IPL

Mumbai: Just days after the International Cricket Council (ICC)'s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) chief Sir Paul Condon said the Indian Premier League (IPL) was vulnerable to corruption, just like times when Sharjah was hosting international matches, another embarrassment has hit the cash-rich venture.

 

It is reliably learnt that IPL -- in its maiden season -- has had its first tryst with doping. According to an official at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) a pace bowler from the sub-continent has become the first player to fail the random dope tests conducted during the IPL. A senior official of the ICC has also confirmed the news.

 

A WADA affiliated team from Sweden conducted random tests during the IPL but only from May 18 --- a month after the tournament kicked off.

 

The WADA official and the ICC confirmed to cricketnirvana.com that one sample indeed tested positive, but the identity of the player is unclear. According to the source the samples arrive with a code given to each player to protect their identity.

The WADA have written a letter to the ICC, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the IPL informing them about the failed drug test along with the code of the player. The code for each player is decided by the organizers -- in this case the IPL -- and so the identity is known only to them.

 

But surprisingly, when contacted IPL CEO Sundar Raman, claimed that they were yet to receive the results of the tests. “We should get it (results) very shortly,” said Raman. This is surprising because usually the results of the tests conducted by the WADA are obtained within a week to a fortnight and it's already been more than six weeks since the IPL ended. 

 

Throughout the tournament, two players from each team after a match were randomly picked through a draw by the rival team managers and were asked to appear for dope tests.

 

 

 

Despite being a domestic tournament, the IPL followed all the procedures set-up by the ICC. Accordingly, the IPL duly drew up a code based on the WADA module.

The million dollar question is: Can an international player competing in the IPL be sanctioned as per the WADA Code in case there is a positive test? Or will the sanction be limited to just the IPL tournament?

 

Beyond imposing a suspension from the IPL or slapping monetary sanctions, the IPL would be powerless in suspending a player from the game as per ICC rules or WADA Code.

 

Ironically BCCI does not have an anti-doping code and it is in no position to conduct tests or sanction a player who tests positive.

 

The ICC has set 2009 as the cut-off date by which all boards have to become signatories to the WADA code. So far only England, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand have signed the code.