PCB make dope testing mandatory in domestic tourneys

The national T20 championship which begins from tomorrow in Lahore will be the first domestic event in Pakistan which will witness random dope testing of players.

"All the cricketers representing the 14 regional teams in the T20 event will be subject to random dope tests," a PCB official said.

The decision to introduce dope testing in domestic cricket comes nearly six years after former pace duo of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif had tested positive during the ICC Champions Trophy in India.

Since the spot-fixing scandal in 2010 which led to a ban on three players Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, the board has also introduced new anti-corruption measures in domestic cricket.

"We believe that the core of any ill is in domestic cricket and must be dealt with at that level.

That is why now we are taking effective anti-corruption measures and have now introduced random dope testing," the official said.

He said the dope tests would be conducted in accordance with regulations of the World Anti-Doping Agency.

"These tests will be conducted by WADA accredited independent doping control officers throughout the competition.

" A PCB statement said that since last year the board had educated approximately 500 cricketers on the subject of doping.

"Players were educated and made aware of rules and regulations related to doping through lectures. They were also provided with an urdu guide, updated list of banned drugs and a CD for revision of doping education," the statement said.

The statement added that the board in order to strive for drug free sports and to protect the basic framework of protection of athletes' basic right to participate in doping- free sport and thus promote health, fairness and equality for cricketers nationwide, has introduced this in-competition testing.

It said that under the Supervision of Dr. Sohail Saleem, GM sports medicine department of Pakistan Cricket Board has not only prepared 'Doping Code PCB' in accordance with the rules laid down by WADA, but also a strategic plan for controlling, if any, doping in the country under their domain.

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