ICC anti-doping code to take effect in August

The ICC board has approved revised rules with minor amendments to be agreed relating to the "whereabouts" provision of the ICC anti-doping code. The code will come into effect on August 1, 2010. The adoption of the code was delayed because of objections to the 'whereabouts' clause raised by the BCCI on behalf of the Indian cricketers.

"I am satisfied that we have now resolved the long outstanding issue of filing whereabouts information and the contribution of the BCCI in finding a solution needs to be acknowledged," Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, said in Singapore. "This is a complex area for players and administrators."

The ICC had become a signatory of the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) in 2006, in order to enhance cricket's credibility as a global sport and to satisfy mandatory requirements for participating in events like the Olympics. Players from India, however, felt the whereabouts clause of the code, which required them to inform WADA of their daily location at the start of every quarter, infringed on their privacy and created security hazards. Lorgat said the concerns had now been addressed and an amicable solution found.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) had asked the ICC to give a final push to convince its member boards to accept the contentious whereabouts clause by November 2011, failing which it would be declared non-compliant to the WADA code.