The International Cricket Council has decided to “suspend” the ‘whereabouts clause’ of the World Anti-Doping Agency until the concerns of Indian players’ about it are resolved.
“We need to find a solution to the practical problem India is having, which is a constitutional issue of the country, which is why we decided to suspend the ‘whereabouts’ clause,” ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat was quoted as saying by Cricinfo .
The ICC will soon discuss the code with WADA and in a board meeting scheduled three months from now, it will decide whether to implement the code or not. Until then, the ICC will continue testing players without using the contentious clause.
The clause requires players to give their whereabouts details a month in advance for out of competition testing and the Indian players have opposed it, saying it infringes on their privacy and poses a threat to their security.
The Indian board (BCCI) has also backed the players and has reportedly got support from its counterparts in Australia, South Africa, England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
The BCCI wants the ICC to either persuade WADA to scrap the clause or make a cricket-specific code.
Asked about the latest on row, ICC president David Morgan said, “The doping question is best described as a work in progress. We will have further meetings with WADA and we hope to have a situation that is acceptable to WADA and all the cricket-playing nations.”
