Evil drugs (except for booze)

Rohit Mahajan in Outlook revisits the WADA/BCCI wrangle, and enlists the help of authorities to make the case against "drugs":

But does cricket, a highly skill-based sport, need such drastic testing? Yes, says Ashok Ahuja, former head of the department of sports medicine, National Institute of Sports, Patiala. “The role of steroids has increased in cricket, especially among pace bowlers, to build up the muscles and recover from injuries,” he told Outlook.

Entirely correct. No dispute there. But then, things descend into the usual incoherence whenever it comes to talking about "drugs" for there is another worry apparently, the dreaded "recreational drug":

Ahuja also talks about the use of recreational drugs by sportspersons. “Some superstar athletes, moving in seven-star society, use recreational drugs,” he says, adding that the BCCI’s suggestion that it could produce a player for testing on a 24-hour notice won’t be acceptable because these drugs can be washed out of the system in that time. May agrees that recreational drugs, which carry a WADA penalty only if detected during competition, are a concern, for there “indeed is a temptation”.

Now, what drugs might that be? Beer? Wine? Whisky? Oh, no, I'm sure we're talking about the evil weed, for really, what sort of seven-star party is it that doesn't have a joint or two going around? So that's a good idea. Lets increase the surveillance on cricketers and bust them, a la Phelps, while as usual, tolerating the far more dangerous alcohol. And in fact, lets glorify alcohol while we are at it. Heck, we have an IPL team named after a whiskey.

My advice to the knights on white horses trying to rescue cricketers from "recreational drugs": don't be such hypocrites.

BCCI, WADA and the lowdown

Woah. The folks at Bored Cricket Crazy Indians have an interview with the folks at WADA. More precisely, they have an exclusive with WADA's Director of Communications, Julie Masse. Go there. Get the straight dope. Get it? Sometimes, I kill myself.

Getting clarity on drugs

A new post on the BCCI/WADA dispute is up at the Faster Times.

Kesavan on the BCCI/WADA furore

A great piece by Mukul Kesavan on the ICC/WADA/BCCI standoff. Couldn't have said it better myself.

Edit: I realize this little pointer was just a bit of glib flattery but I did want to say that Kesavan's piece manages to capture the fact that there is a level of complexity to the drug testing standoff that doesn't seem to have been captured by the debate thus far.