Cricketers are ignorant about effects of doping: ICC

By Rahul Bajaj
for Cricketain.com

Published: November 5, 2009

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New Delhi: After re-drafting their World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code in January this year, the International Cricket Council (ICC) is now going all out to make sure that cricketers are aware of the ill effects of doping.

Recently, the Indian cricketers (like many other sportsmen around the world) refused to sign the WADA code citing the controversial “whereabouts” clause as a reason. But David McDonagh, who is a member of ICC’s anti-doping tribunal, has said that the controversy had more to it than just a clause. He said that the controversy showed the lack of awareness among the sportspersons about the undesirable effects of performance enhancing drugs.

“There is not much awareness among not only Indian cricketers, but also among players in general,” McDonagh, here to attend an international congress on sports medicine, told IANS. “Cricketers need to be educated on doping, they don’t need to dope. Good thing is that we hardly had any doping cases coming to the ICC.”

“If you increase your bulk, you run the risk of tearing your tendons. Doping is not a long-term solution for cricketers. Fast bowling is one of the toughest aspects of cricket and you will only be prone to more injuries if you are on drugs,” said the Irishman.

When asked about the controversial “whereabouts” clause and whether it would be removed from the WADA code considering the strong opposition from sportspersons all around the world, McDonagh said that all sorts of methods need to be used in order to catch the cheats.

Agreeing that although the whereabouts clause is “harsh” on the players, he went to add, “Random testing is the unfortunate price we have to pay for doping. We all have the responsibility to clean up sport and this is where WADA comes in. The registration and whereabouts clause is hard on the athletes, one cannot take chances if sport has to be dope-free.”

Just a few days back, Andre Aggasi, revealed that he used to dope during his playing days and he took a banned substance, crystal meth, but got away with it lying. When asked about the honest and shocking revelation of the eight time Grand Slam winner and whether he would have been caught if he had committed the same offence today, McDonagh said, “You never know. We now have far stricter testing methods. In the 90s the drugs control was only at the Olympics and not at other events. The effect of WADA influence was felt only recently. The level of testing now is far more superior. The tests are widespread now, but dope, too, has found newer methods.”

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