Having stalled the ministry's decade long attempts to bring BCCI under the NADA radar, the Board finally relented on Friday, a move that could have far-reaching implications in the near future.
Kiren Rijiju addressing the crowd at an event
India's Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju welcomed BCCI's decision to come under the ambit of National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA), terming it a major step towards clean and transparent governance in the most-watched sport in the country.
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Having stalled the ministry's decade long attempts to bring BCCI under the NADA radar, the Board finally relented on Friday, a move that could have far-reaching implications in the near future.
Kiren Rijiju termed the development as a major positive turn of events.
"I don't want any issues or matter to remain unresolved. All the differences must be resolved amicably because I believe in clean and transparent governance in Sports in the interest of the sports and sportspersons," Rijiju told PTI.
The BCCI didn't come under NADA all this while as they feared that their autonomy would get hurt. The leading cricketers under their aegis had also protested about the contentious 'Whereabouts Clause' related to Out Of Competition (OOC) testing, fearing that their privacy would be compromised.
However, during a meeting between BCCI CEO Rahul Johri and sports secretary Radhe Shyam Julaniya, the apprehensions were put to rest as they agreed to be compliant under the anti-doping code.
"I explained to BCCI you don't have a discretion to abide by law or not. The law applies to everyone equally," Julaniya said after the landmark development following a meeting with the BCCI officials.
"Every federation is on the same footing for enforcement of law. You don't have to sign an agreement. We categorically told them no MOU is required as law is applicable to everyone," he had said.
Earlier, Navin Agarwal, Director General (DG) NADA said following the meeting with BCCI officials "The meeting went well. BCCI have raised some issues which we will address. From the upcoming domestic season, NADA will conduct the tests on cricket players, not ITDM [Swedish agency International Doping Tests and Management],"
After the meeting, Rahul Johri said, "The BCCI will agree to the law of the land. We have raised concerns which the sports secretary assured us will be addressed. We also agreed to bear the differential cost of high-quality testing."
With inputs from PTI
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