Sports Minister wants BCCI to sign WADA code

New Delhi: Union Sports Minister MS Gill on Monday came out in support of World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) anti-doping code and said that Indian cricketers must follow the system put in place by the anti-doping body.

Gill said that says everybody had to follow the system put in place by WADA while slamming the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for rejecting the 'Whereabouts Clause'.

The Sports Minister dismissed apprehension expressed by the BCCI and Indian cricketers that the 'Whereabouts Clause' was an infringement on their privacy and would compromise the players' security.

"We have accepted WADA regulatory testing and we adhere to it. Sportsperson should be clear in one thing that it is not getting into someone's life," Gill said after the state sports ministers' conference in New Delhi.

He also pointed out all top sportsperson across the world have already signed the WADA code.

"All sportsperson should adhere to it and happily follow it as so many sports federations and players are following it," Gill said.

The 'Whereabouts Clause' requires players to inform their whereabouts three months in advance for out-of-competition testing.

The BCCI had convened an emergency Working Committee meeting in Mumbai on Sunday and rejected the clause. The meeting was also attended by Indian cricket captain MS Dhoni and senior players Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh.

The cricket board cited three main reasons for objecting to the 'Whereabouts Clause' in the code.

BCCI President Shashank Manohar said that some Indian players had a security cover that would be threatened if the code was signed. Manohar also claimed that the privacy of individuals could not be violated and the Constitution of India guaranteed every citizen the right to privacy that will be invaded by the clause.

While other cricketing countries have already agreed to the code, India players have made it clear that they would not sign unless the 'Whereabouts Clause' was amended.

WADA reacted to Indian cricketers holding out reminding the BCCI of its duty to protect cricket.

"WADA expects Indian cricketers and BCCI to understand that, as the ambassadors and guardians of their sport, they have a duty to protect its integrity and will see the benefits of cooperating with the ICC (International Cricket Council) to enforce the World Anti-Doping Code like the rest of the world has," WADA President John Fahey was quoted as saying by the PTI.