NADA to carry out 50 tests during IPL 2020; Kohli, Dhoni, Rohit and other stars on priority list

In the latest developments surrounding IPL 2020, National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) has come up with its final plan to be carried out during the course of the fancy T20 league. NADA will be setting up five Dope Control Stations across UAE- one each in venue cities like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah. The other two stations will be placed at the training venues – ICC Academy in Dubai and Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

NADA director-general, Navin Agarwal told that their officers have been asked to carry out in competition testing exclusively at playing venues. The agency has a finalized plan of collecting 50 samples of cricketers during the tournament. Apart from urine samples, some blood samples could also be collected for the testing purpose, and the preferred stars from the lot will be Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and MS Dhoni.

Three teams have been designated to carry out the task for the whole tournament. As per the reports on Times of India, Agarwal said – “The first batch will leave in the first week of September. Before their departure, all team members will be tested for Covid-19. Upon their arrival in the UAE, they will be tested again.”

Virat Kohli on the importance of bi0-security bubble

On Monday, RCB skipper Virat Kohli stressed the very issue of player safety. He opined that even a minor mistake on any player’s part could play the spoilsport for the entire league. RCB posted a video on their Twitter handle where the ace batsman can be seen emphasizing the importance of bio-security bubble, and asking his teammates to respect the same in order to contain the spread of this deadly virus.

“We’ve done quite well to get to Dubai safe and sound firstly. We’ve followed what’s been told to us and I would expect everyone to be on the same page in terms of securing the bubble at all times and making sure that nothing is compromised because one mistake from any of us could literally spoil the whole tournament and none of us want to do that.”

All the teams have already landed in Dubai for the 13th season of IPL, and are undergoing mandatory quarantine before hitting the ground.