Five Indian cricketers including Cheteshwar Pujara, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja were served notice by the National Anti Doping Agency for not submitting their whereabout details for the April to June quarter, according to a report in Amar Ujala.
Cricketers Smriti Mandhana and Dipti Sharma and weightlifter Sanjita Chanu, who was cleared of doping charges after two years, were also among the 41 athletes who were given a show cause notice, the report said.
After years of resistance, the Board of Control for Cricket in India had agreed to come under the Nada ambit in August last year and since then all the players in the Registered Testing Pool are expected to submit their quarter-wise whereabout details four times in a year. This is the first time such a notice has been sent to Indian cricketers.
West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell was suspended for a year starting January 31, 2017, for not submitting his whereabouts on three successive occasions in 2015.
The report claimed that the players were given the notice on June 8 and were asked to respond within five days. However, the cricketers quickly sprung into action and responded to the notice by Friday.
Though no dope tests have been conducted since March due to the nationwide lockdown imposed following the coronavirus crisis, it is mandatory for players to submit their whereabouts.