Indian cricketers could be thanked!

Do Indian cricketers have the divine right to be excluded from submitting details of their whereabouts to ensure International Cricket Council's anti-doping programme is carried out smoothly? No, for the simple reason that no one is bigger than the game and it is the business of those who run the sport to ensure it is drug-free.

But everyone has a right to be heard.

Now that the BCCI have informed the ICC about their players' reservations about the clause and the matter will be taken up on a higher platform u2013 ie the executive board level, there could well be a few more disagreeing voices about the clause within the member countries.

A member of the Pakistan Cricket Board revealed to MiD DAY on Sunday that their players had a problem with the clause. Ditto the New Zealand board; even the Federation of International Cricketers' Association (FICA) whom India and Pakistan are not part of.

Possible clash
There is no place for challengers of authority, but at least the Indian players and Board have expressed their misgivings lucidly. Though an ICC official was quoted as saying that this issue will not lead to World War III, a clash cannot be ruled out. At the same time, there is a good possibility of the ICC abandoning the use of World Anti Doping Agency methods. If that happens, there could well be 'thank you' emails circulating to the Indians by their cricketing counterparts from other countries.

"My understanding is that Indian players have expressed significant concerns as to the confidentiality of the information that they provide - on a privacy and security standpoint," Tim May, the former Australia off-spinner turned FICA chief executive told Cricinfo. "These are legitimate concerns which ICC will need to deal with in providing comfort to the players that their information is at all times secure," he adds.

All this means that international players have a problem, but not challenged the issue strongly enough. The PCB official admitted that when they protested to the ICC, they were told that they had to toe the line.

And one has yet to come across any report about FICA gathering players to discuss this problem. Are they a strong enough body despite having a large number of international players whose interests need looking after? You decide.

India deserve a lot of 'thank you' notes in any case considering the plethora of opportunities it gives to so many international cricketers. Of course, the country's cricketing stocks gain too.

Indian players' reservations notwithstanding, cricket should never lose sight of the fact that it must be clean.
If you hear one more official saying that dope tests should be conducted only during tournaments, he can take a walk. Not all drug cheats are fools.