The decision was taken after a meeting among senior BCCI representatives, finally ensuring that the Indian cricket board will comply with World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) directives.

With the latest development, the ICC is also set to become fully WADA compliant, pushing past a major roadblock that required all its board members follow their countries’ respective codes. It also paves the way for cricket to be included in global events such as the Olympics.

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According to reports, the government forced the board’s hand when it held back clearances for tours by South Africa A and women’s teams. “BCCI has come under the ambit of NADA. I explained to them that you don’t have the discretion to follow the law or not, it applies to all uniformly. India is governed by the rule of law and everyone is equal before the law. They have agreed,” sports secretary Radhey Shyam Julaniya told reporters.

The news comes just over a week after Indian batsman Prithvi Shaw was handed a backdated eight-month ban, having tested positive for terbutaline, a banned substance.

Being an autonomous body that does not depend on government funding, the BCCI had resisted coming under NADA directives, stating that it is not a national sports federation. It had instead used the Sweden-based International Dope Testing Management (IDTM) for collecting the samples of cricketers and testing them at the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL). The current move ensures that BCCI will now be compliant with WADA’s 2015 code.

[caption id=”attachment_112374″ align=”alignnone” width=”800″] Shaw was handed a backdated suspension for a doping violation[/caption]

All players, including domestic cricketers, will now be under the scope of NADA, which can collect samples during any BCCI event in the country, including the IPL. For ICC events, and matches under the ICC’s Future Tours Programme, the international body has the power to direct NADA to collect samples.

A major consequence would be out-of-competition testing of players. Indian cricketers have, in the past, expressed their reservation over the ‘whereabouts’ clause, which requires them to share their location during off season.

Apart from citing the privacy issue, the BCCI has, in the past, also raised concerns about the quality of dope testing kits, as well as the process of sample collection.

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“BCCI has conveyed to us they will abide by Indian law, rules and regulations and respect the government of India’s jurisdiction,” Julaniya said. “Their first concern was the quality of dope testing kits. We assured them the kits are of international quality – WADA-approved kits.

“The second issue was regarding competence of pathologists and sample-collecting officers. We assured them our dope-control officers are well trained but if you require a higher qualification then we have no issues in enlisting those but they will be at a higher fee.

“The third issue was timely decision of cases. We explained that there is a three-month window and 90% of the cases are decided within that.”