The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) might have to outsource the task of sample collection:

For the first time, dope control in charge at the Indian Premier League, the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) may need to outsource the sample collection job provided the high cost of managing the exercise when the tournament is held in the UAE.

The next preferable option for NADA will be taking the help of the National Anti-Doping Organisation (NADO) of UAE or International Dope Test and Management (IDTM) of Sweden which has completed sample collection as well as testing for the previous 12 editions of the IPL tournament.

From the third quarter of the year 2019, the Indian Cricket Board, BCCI came under the range of NADA, making this year for the first time that the agency will manage the task of sample collection at the time of IPL, which is scheduled to be held from 19th September to 8th November.

A senior BCCI official told PTI “It is predicted that the official fixture will be declared next week. And once we deliver the fixture to NADA, they can make a decision. Totally it is their decision as they will need to accept the sample collection and its transportation cost.”

When PTI came up to Navin Agarwal, the DG of NADA on this issue, he didn’t disclose this matter much and said “Once we make a decision on this, we will let you know”.

Until the previous edition of IPL, BCCI bears the sample collection along with its testing cost of players with the World Anti-Doping Agency- accredited IDTM.

There are some more options available that NADA has as per those who are good side by side with the workings of the agency.

Outsourcing sample collection to UAE NADO

If NADO will gather the sample as well as transport it to the WADA-approved lab, situated in Doha, then it will be the most cost-effective measure. Since the WADA suspended the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL), NADA has been sending the gathered samples to this laboratory.

NADA sends DCOs to UAE

The next option is that NADA can send a minimum of 3-4 DCOs to the UAE bearing sample collection cost. It is predicted that theses DCOs will be there at the bio-secure environment built by BCCI, which will not be the same from the ones built by other franchises for their players. The tab needs to be taken by NADA as the cost will cross into lakhs.

As per the experts, the agency is already short of target-testing at the time of an Olympic year because of the pandemic-compelled lockdown and working on a particular budget, and spending such a huge amount on testing purposes at the IPL may not be a good idea.