NADA join hands with UAE's NADO to conduct dope-test of players for the IPL 2020

The upcoming season of Indian Premier League (IPL) is going to be a new experience all together from several aspects. The tournament is all set to take place in UAE from September 19 and for the first time the power-packed action will happen behind closed doors. Optimum safety standards and guidelines are in place along with which, players will also be undergoing several dope tests throughout the season.

The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) along with UAE’s National Anti-Doping Committee (NADO) will conduct dope test of players for the 13th season of IPL. As per reports, NADO will dictate The Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) to be followed in UAE while following the procedure where both in out-of-competition testing will take place.

Owing to COVID-19 guidelines, the testing will be no-contact and relevant authorities have been educated along the same line. NADA will be sending some of its Dope Control Officers (DCOs) to UAE, and they shall undergo quarantine of specific period before beginning up with the task. They may remain in the bio-secure bubble created by BCCI for the players, but NADO might think for some alternate arrangements for same as the whole cost of these DCOs is on NADA’s shoulders.

The estimated cost for testing each sample in Doha Labs will be around USD 350 which is getting heavy on budget of NADA. Therefore, the limited number of tests are on list. It is for the first time that Indian anti-doping watchdog will be taking up the charge of doing dope test solely. Earlier, Sweden based International Dope Test and Management (IDTM) carried out the testing for cricketers involved in T20 league.

NADA director general, Navin Agarwal stated-

Agarwal told Times of India (TOI), “We will be conducting the dope testing at the IPL like any other BCCI event, following the health and safety protocols. We will be organizing the DCOs trip, either from India or the UAE or both to the match venues. NADA has discussed the issue with the UAE NADO and some amount of understanding has already been reached. We are waiting for the IPL governing council to finalize the tournament fixtures to plan accordingly.”

With all the 8 teams along with staff under the safety bubble of BCCI, NADA may encounter some challenges while carrying out all of this.