IPL 2020: No dope testing in the tournament as NADA officials wait for approval to fly out

The 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) got underway on Saturday, September 19 with the match between defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. However, the dope control officers (DOCs) of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) haven’t yet arrived in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The sample collection process is yet to start as the NADA officials wait for permission from the Indian government to travel to the UAE. NADA’s team was set to fly out in the second week of September, but hasn’t left India pending approval from the ministry of foreign affairs. The first batch of DOCs was scheduled to travel on September 12.

NADA yet to get approval for IPL

As per reports in The Times of India (TOI), the NADA has been trying to get the approvals to send its DOCs to either Dubai or Sharjah, preferably by next week. However, things don’t quite look on the bright side due to the current COVID-19 pandemic situation in the country and the strict health protocols put in place by the UAE’s local authorities.

Sources said that NADA had submitted the proposal for dope testing in the IPL before the start of the tournament and the ministry had forwarded that to the required personnel in the government. The NADA might also face the problem of entering the bio-security bubble created by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as a precautionary measure.

Also, visitors have to spend a seven-day quarantine period in Dubai and Sharjah, while in Abu Dhabi, the period extends to as many as 15 days. Earlier, NADA, in collaboration with UAE’s NADO, set up five ‘Dope Control Stations’ in the gulf country for carrying out its anti-doping activities- one each in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, and one centre at two training venues- ICC Academy in Dubai and the Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

Moreover, bearing in mind the high costs, NADA had planned to conduct only 20 in-competition of cricketers and 30 out-of-competition cricketers. As far as the tournament schedule is concerned, the final will be played on November 10.