PCB fine with anti-doping code, says can't escape WADA

Karachi:

BCCI may consider a WADA anti-doping clause "unreasonable" but the Pakistan Cricket Board disagrees and believes the Indian players are unlikely to be exempted from signing the document despite their Board's tough stand.

PCB's Chief Operating Officer Saleem Altaf said that Pakistan had no issues with the contentious 'whereabouts clause' in the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) agreement that has been rejected by the Indian board and its players.

"The automatic anti-doping and testing mechanism outlined in the new agreement by WADA is acceptable to us and nine of our male and two female cricketers have signed it," Altaf said.

Each country was required to submit the names of nine men and two women players for the WADA agreement.

"All the cricket-playing nations including Pakistan are WADA compliant. So, I don't think there is any way any country can escape this issue," he added.

He pointed out that the WADA rules were very clear and envisaged strong penalties for players, who missed a test and failed to disclose their whereabouts properly.

The Indian players have refused to sign the document pointing out that the contentious clause puts their security at risk as they have to inform the ICC and WADA about their whereabouts three months in advance.

Altaf said all ICC members were supposed to sign the WADA document by July 31 and Pakistan had done this.

"I don't want to comment on the issue between the Indian board and the ICC and WADA as it is their internal matter. I don't know how they will get around this automatic mechanism set up by WADA for its complaint nations," Altaf said.

Meanwhile, former Pakistan captain Moin Khan said if all countries had signed the WADA document, there was no way India could avoid it.

"It is a matter of time and it is only because of India's influential position in world cricket that the ICC is giving it time but there is no getting around WADA complaint rules," he noted.