NADA associate with UAE’s NADO for the IPL 2020 to conduct dope-test of players
The upcoming Indian Premier League ( IPL) will be a whole new experience from many perspectives together. The games are all set to be played in UAE from September 19, and the power-packed action will take place behind closed doors for the first time. Optimum safety requirements and protocols are in place and will also require players to undergo multiple drug checks during the season.
The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) along with the National Anti-Doping Committee (NADO) of the UAE will carry out player drug tests for the 13th IPL season. According to sources, NADO will prescribe the Standard Operating Procedures ( SoPs) to be adopted in UAE when following the protocol where both are to take place in out-of-competition testing.
The research would be no-contact due to COVID-19 guidelines, and local authorities have been informed along the same lines. NADA will send some of its Dope Control Officers (DCOs) to the UAE for a limited time of quarantine before starting the mission. They might remain in the biosecure bubble created for the players by BCCI, but NADO may think about some alternative arrangements about the same as the entire cost of these DCOs is on the shoulders of NADA.
The estimated cost to check each sample in Doha Laboratories would be about USD 350, which gets heavy on NADA ‘s budget. Hence there is a small number of measures on the list. For the first time, Indian anti-doping watchdog will carry on the task of performing drug tests alone. In the past, Sweden based International Dope Test and Management (IDTM) completed the T20 league cricket studies.
NADA, following the health and safety guidelines, will carry out the drug testing at the IPL as every other BCCI case. NADA will arrange a trip to the match sites for the DCOs, either from India both or either UAE. NADA has been addressing this topic with UAE NADO, and some understanding has already been achieved. NADA is waiting for the IPL Governing Council to finalize the preparation of the tournament fixtures.
For all the eight teams and personnel under BCCI’s safety bubble, NADA can face some challenges while doing all of that.
