IPL players to undergo 'surprise' tests

New Delhi: Amid rumours that some of the players might be resorting to performance enhancing drugs in the Indian Premier League, a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) team has arrived here to conduct doping tests with the players.

There were reports in a section of the media that the Kolkata Knight Riders pace spearhead Shoaib Akhtar was carrying an unusually high number of syringes in his baggage while coming here. However, IPL Chairman and Commissioner Lalit Modi rubbished the reports, saying the players would be subjected to random dope tests. The WADA team has nothing to do with any particular player or team.

A Pakistani newspaper The Nation has reported that a large number of syringes were found in cricketer Shoaib Akhtar's bag at the Karachi airport while he was heading to India.

Shoaib reportedly argued that he is a diabetic and needs the syringes to inject himself with insulin. However, when a senior official of the board was asked about the incident, he said it was no big deal as the syringes were empty and contained no substances.

Shafqat Naghmi, chief operating officer also showed ignorance over the medical history of Shoaib saying he would have to check up to find out if the fast bowler was a diabetic.

But he made it clear that Shoaib had gone to India to play in the IPL and currently he was under the preview of the IPL rules and regulations.

Modi said as per the ICC rules the WADA team would go about collecting samples from players from Saturday.

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