And here's the latest dope
Writing in the Indian Express , Harsha Bhogle feels cricket probably doesn’t need the extreme physical effort that track and field athletes and cyclists do (in the rogues gallery those are the prime portraits) but as the game moves increasingly to
Judhajit
25-Feb-2013
Writing in the Indian Express, Harsha Bhogle feels cricket probably doesn’t need the extreme physical effort that track and field athletes and cyclists do (in the rogues gallery those are the prime portraits) but as the game moves increasingly to a shorter form, requiring concentrated but small bursts of performance, the need to be more vigilant is greater.
There is little doubt that drug testing has to be mandatory in cricket. Every good system must create an atmosphere for the clean to thrive and the weeds to be uprooted. And there are both in our sport as there will be even among priests and kindergarten teachers. Sometimes you don’t just have to be clean, you have to be demonstrably clean and that is a small price to pay in the effort to cleanse a sport.
To say that cricketers are 'different' and therefore deserve their privacy reeks of supercilious nonsense and betrays a lack of understanding of the big picture. Ayaz Memon in his column in Daily News & Analysis draws up an analogy with 'nakabandis' (checkpoints).
Nobody likes to be stopped in the middle of the road and for no apparent reason, but given the widespread instances of terror-related crime, everybody has learnt to adapt to this inconvenience.
The honourable intentions of Wada have now brought it to the door of Indian cricket, but the agency is a proud guest. It is not impressed by wealth nor is it star-struck. Be it the BCCI, FIFA or Rafael Nadal, Wada would not genuflect. It would not even be accommodating. Akshay Sawai in Open magazine believes the agency would not wait meekly at the door but will stride in, aware of its clout. It would deliver the message and walk out.