The anti-doping wing of the International Cricket Council has told the eight teams under its International Registered Testing Pool that despite the decision of the BCCI Working Committee, there was no change in the system in vogue until the ICC Executive Board considers India’s decision.
“Please be advised that, pending consideration of this issue by the ICC Board, the current system remains in place, and cricketers in the IRTP should continue to file their whereabouts until further notice,” said an advisory on Monday from the ICC’s anti-doping wing to the member nations.
It may be recalled that barring India, the other seven nations in the IRTP pool of the ICC have already signed the code including the ‘whereabouts’ clause. Interestingly, all these nations are affiliated to FICA, the federation of international cricketers, while India have stayed away from the FICA umbrella and the BCCI has repeatedly stressed that it has nothing to do with the global players’ body.
Contrary to popular opinion, and despite FICA advocating penalising the Indians if they didn’t sign the WADA code, it isn’t merely the Indians that are concerned about ‘whereabouts’.
FICA president Tim May has gone on record as saying, “Players from other countries do have concerns with the system -- ranging from the administrational burden and various privacy issues.”
While the Pakistan Cricket Board on Monday reacted to the BCCI move by saying it had no issues with the ‘whereabouts’ clause, it has been learnt that the Pakistani players too had reservations, but were told they had no option but to sign on the dotted line.
A top ICC official told PCB that the players had to sign the code, failing which they would face penalties. Mindful of the hardships Pakistan cricket has faced in recent times, the PCB assured the players that it would take care of their interests but wanted them to sign the code as it stood.
On Sunday, the ICC noted India’s concerns and said it would try to address the issues to everyone’s satisfaction. “What both the ICC and the BCCI are looking for is a practical and mutually acceptable solution to the current situation,” a spokesman had said, lending further credence to the theory that India call the shots in the ICC.
DH News Service
