By IANS,
Dubai : The International Cricket Council (ICC) has come up with a stricter anti-doping code to ensure that the sport is free of banned substances.
The code, which comes into effect Thursday, was recently given unanimous approval by all members of the ICC Board. The adoption of this strengthened ICC Anti-Doping Code coincides with the amendment of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Code.
The new code gives more flexibility to any hearing panel appointed in terms of the sanctions and penalties that may be imposed against players who test positive for a banned substance.
It also means that international cricketers must be available for testing at any time, any day of the year, whether it is at ICC events, bilateral series or even out of competition.
“The ICC has a zero-tolerance approach to doping in cricket and this new code serves to reinforce that position,” the ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said in a press release.
“This code means it has just become even harder for drug cheats to get away with doping practices and it is part of our continued battle to ensure fair competition for all.
The ICC became a signatory of WADA in July 2006 and has been testing at its events since 2002.
In line with the provisions of the code, the ICC will establish a doping hearing panel from which three people will be selected to sit as an anti-doping tribunal from time to time in order to determine whether an anti-doping rule violation has been committed.
The chairperson of the tribunal is required to be legally qualified while the others on the tribunal will have legal, medical or technical expertise with specific experience in anti-doping matters. Each member of the doping hearing panel shall be independent of the ICC.
In a further move aimed at bolstering the anti-doping movement in cricket, the ICC has also recently circulated a template anti-doping code for all of its members to adopt in order to help them to govern anti-doping matters at a domestic level in a consistent and WADA Code-compliant manner.