Will BCCI be able to play WADA for a boundary…read more!!

In an interview to cricket website Cricinfo.com former Australian great Ian Chappell has stated that the  players’ apprehensions to sign the controversial WADA’s ’whereabout clause’ was understandable but felt that the price was definitely worth paying especially in view of a doping menace which usually accompanies top cricket pay packages.

“It’s easy to understand the concerns of both players and administrators as the ICC seeks to iron out the wrinkles in its recently adopted comprehensive drug-testing policy. The players are naturally worried about an invasion of privacy. If cricket shied away from a tough drug-testing regime, there’s no guarantee doping wouldn’t escalate and then down the track fans would have doubts, like there are in baseball now, over players’ records,” he was quoted as saying by the ‘cricinfo’. He also feared that the gap in earnings of cricketers might drive them to doping and develop a void.

“It’s easy to see why the ICC wants a random and year-round drug-testing regime. In cricket there’s a major imbalance in players’ earnings. If doping did escalate, the higher-paid performers would have access to the more sophisticated drugs. The risk of not having a tough, year-round drug-testing regime would be a widening in the competitive gap between the haves and the have-nots. The players using the cheaper drugs would also run a greater risk of being caught out by testing,” he feared.

“The main gripe of the players – and it’s not just the cricketers but a number of different sportsmen – is that they have to notify the officials of their whereabouts out of season. As well as being an invasion of privacy, the players point out that it’s also a security risk having people know their whereabouts. However, in the end it may be the price the players have to pay to ensure “the sport remains fair and clean. If a tough testing regime ensures the public isn’t questioning the integrity of players whose records feature more asterisks than an ancient honour roll, then it will have been a price worth paying,” he said.

Meanwhile, Beijing 2008 Olympics gold-medallist Abhinav Bindra was clear that BCCI could not back out and stood no chance against WADA. “BCCI has no chance or choice. I understand the situation. I don’t blame them.”

Well, surely looks like BCCI who have backed their players for the time being will have a tough time fielding some tough bowling sessions for the balls that will be thrown at them by the WADA….