WADA claims an Indian cricketer tested positive for doping in 2016

According to a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) report of 2016, one Indian cricketer has tested positive for banned substances among the 153 BCCI accredited cricketers. The cricketer’s name is yet to be revealed and he will be the second after former India U-19 player Pradeep Sangwan to have tested positive. Sangwan was part of the  Kolkata Knight Riders franchise in 2013 when he tested positive during that year’s Indian Premier League (IPL).

According to the 2016 Anti-Doping Testing Figures, 138 cricketers registered under BCCI were tested ‘In Competition’ (IC) in which one cricketer had tested positive. It is also likely that the cricketer in question has tested positive during a BCCI domestic event like Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy, IPL or Irani Trophy – as it has happened ‘In Competition’.

May not be an international cricketer

However, it is also possible that he may not be an international cricketer. The main takeaway from this incident is the confirmation that this did not happen during an ICC event as normally the world cricket’s governing body mandatorily sends a media release.

There were 15 ‘Out Of Competition’ (OOC) tests conducted during the same period in which all results were negative. When BCCI was contacted about the identity of the cricketer, a top BCCI official, who handles the specific domain told PTI: “We haven’t received any report from the WADA as of now so we are not in a position to reveal the name of the cricketer.”

The report states that one urine sample has ‘Adverse Analytical Findings (AAF)’, which means that the athlete in question has tested positive. None of the BCCI accredited cricketers’ blood samples have been tested.

ICC has carried out 561 tests with 244 In- Competition (IC) where there were 1 Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) and 1 Atypical Findings in the year 2016. They also conducted 317 Out of Competition. Similarly, Pakistan Cricket Board has no positive tests among the 52 tested while Bangladesh’s 24 tests have also come negative.