Rohit Sharma most tested Indian cricketer by NADA for doping; this star batter not tested in last two years

Recent data reveals that there has been a significant lack of doping tests conducted on Indian athletes in the past two years, specifically in 2021 and 2022. While cricket, a prominent sport in the country, finally fell under the jurisdiction of the government-run National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) in 2019, with cricketers now being subjected to NADA’s testing protocols, the numbers are far from satisfactory. In fact, only 114 tests were carried out on cricketers during this period.

This concerning information has been brought to light through a report published by the Indian Express, which obtained the data under the Right to Information (RTI) Act of 2005. According to the provided data, a total of 5,961 tests were conducted in the aforementioned years, but a mere 1.91 percent of these tests were performed on cricketers. Surprisingly, athletics emerged as the sport with the highest number of tests, with a staggering 1,717 tests conducted across the country.

The report highlights an interesting finding regarding the frequency of drug testing among Indian cricketers. According to the data, Rohit Sharma, the captain of the Indian cricket team, has undergone the most tests, with officials visiting him on six occasions. On the other hand, seven players, including Cheteshwar Pujara and Suryakumar Yadav, were tested only once, while Virat Kohli, one of the prominent figures in Indian cricket, was not tested at all in the past two years.

It is worth noting that Kohli is not the sole contracted male cricketer who has not been subjected to testing. Out of the 25 male cricketers who have received central contracts from the Indian cricket board, 12 of them have not undergone any testing during this period. The list includes notable names such as Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Arshdeep Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Sanju Samson, Srikar Bharat, and Washington Sundar.

In contrast, all contracted women cricketers have been tested, with Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana being the most frequently tested female players, each undergoing three tests. It is important to emphasize that this data does not imply any misconduct by Indian cricketers. However, it does lend support to the claims made by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) that India needs to enhance its efforts in catching those who engage in doping.

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