The ICC CEO brushed aside concerns over a potential clash with WADA on the whereabouts clause, saying it is not an issue any more.
Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal's revelations came just a few days after India has been placed at the third spot in worldwide dope violation in 2014 in a report published by World Anti-Doping Agency.
India has suspended 13 Kabaddi players for doping and ordered more tests on others, just days ahead of a tournament being dubbed the World Kabaddi Cup.
Top Indian javelin thrower Davinder Singh Kang has been suspended provisionally by the world athletics governing body after he returned positive for a steroid in an out-of-competition test last week.
All drug tests for prohibited substances during the ICC Champions Trophy produced negative results.
96 sportspersons returned positive in 2013 while the number of dope offenders in 2014 and 2015 were 95 and 120 respectively.
The International Cricket Council will conduct random dope tests during the World Twenty20 Championship in India, which is a regular practice in all ICC events, Tournament Director M V Sridhar said on Thursday. "The random dope tests have been a part of ICC events for a long time. Random dope tests are performed at all ICC events and it is not a new phenomenon," Tournament Director M V Sridhar told PTI. Sridhar clarified that a series of drug scandals that have recently rocked the sporting world, including tennis star Maria Sharapova's revelation, has not prompted the ICC to take this step as dope tests have been in practice since 2011. "I have never said that it is being done because of drug test failures as this has been a practice for a long time," Sridhar insisted. "ICC events have had dope tests since 2011. They (other sports) have their own anti doping agency which performs as ICC is not part of WADA and cricketers have not signed any whereabouts clause. "For the record, ICC had performed random dope tests at 2011 World Cup, T20 editions in 2012 and 2014. There are times when these dope tests are done during training sessions," Sridhar added.
Haryana sprinter Dharambir Singh, who was barred from representing the country in the Rio Olympics at the last minute for failing a dope test, has been slapped an eight-year ban by the National Anti-Doping Agency.
"Gupta had inadvertently ingested a prohibited substance (terbutaline), which can be commonly found in cough syrups," said the BCCI in a statement.
Mirabai Chanu was the historic success story of Indian weightlifting in a blemish-free 2017 in which the sport managed to stay clear of the dope scandals that have destroyed its credibility in the past.
The Sports Ministry has got a fillip with the government allocating Rs 3,397.32 crore, an increase of Rs 723.97 crore, in the Union Budget on Wednesday.
If Sumit Malik's B sample also returns positive, he can be banned from the sport.
A look at the 10 cricketers who were punished for drug related offences.
The suspense over wrestler Narsingh Yadav's participation in the Rio Olympic Games was prolonged further after the National Anti-Doping Agency deferred its final verdict on the doping scandal to Monday.
Former India all-rounder Yusuf Pathan was on Tuesday handed a five-month retrospective suspension for failing a dope test, a sanction which will end on January 14, after the Board of Control for Cricket in India accepted that the violation was inadvertent.
The BCCI had been vehemently opposed to signing up with NADA, claiming that it is an autonomous body, not a National Sports Federation and does not rely on government funding.
India sprinter Dutee Chand has tested positive for prohibited anabolic steroids during an out-of-competition testing and has been provisionally suspended.
Olympian shooter Manu Bhaker, sprinter Dutee Chand and swimmer Srihari Nataraj are some of the big names to feature in the Khelo India University Games to be held in Bengaluru from April 24 to May 3.
Left red-faced by the four-year ban imposed on Narsingh Yadav by the Court of Arbitration (CAS), the Wrestling Federation of India has demanded a CBI probe into the doping scandal that has jeopardised the grappler's entire career.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a case in the doping scandal involving international wrestler Narsingh Yadav, who was barred from participating in the Rio Olympics after banned substances were found in his urine samples.
Dutee Chand had claimed before NADA's Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel (ADDP) that it was a case of "unintentional consumption".
Asian champion shot-putter Manpreet Kaur has been caught in the dope net after testing positive for a banned stimulant, a massive embarrassment for the country which might lose the gold meda clinched by her earlier this month.
The 27-year-old gold medallist in the 20km race-walk event at the National Inter-State Championships in June, has been asked to return home from Budapest after Athletics Federation of India (AFI) received a notification from NADA regarding the athlete's "whereabouts failure".
Hima Das has been provisionally suspended by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) for three whereabout failures in 12 months.
The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has pulled out dope-flunked shot putter P Udaya Laxmi from the home squad for the ongoing Asian Championships in Pune after testing positive for a banned substance.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday
Earlier this month, a few wrestlers including Deepak Punia had tested positive for coronavirus. The wrestlers had reported to the National Wrestling Camp at SAI Centre in Sonepat and when tested upon arrival, they returned positive.
The weight category sports at the Olympics are wrestling, boxing, taekwondo, judo and weightlifting. Most of these are combat sports and weight categories are designed to match athletes with competitors of similar size.
The IWF has admitted to mentioning two different urine sample numbers in its communication of her dope flunk earlier this year, according to a letter that the world body sent to the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA).
National Anti-Doping Agency chief Navin Agarwal confirmed the former India captain was tested by NADA officials in March but declined to elaborate further.
NADA's 'mistakes' have jeopardised the anti-doping programme
Just a few days after wrestler Narshing Yadav was caught for doping, another Rio Olympics qualified athlete Inderjeet Singh, a shot putter, has failed a dope test.
The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) has banned hockey goalkeeper Akash Chitke for two years after he tested positive for a prohibited substance earlier this year.
Kolkata Knight Riders left-arm seamer Pradeep Sangwan has failed a random dope test in the Indian Premier League, it was reported on Thursday.
Indian shot putter Inderjeet Singh, who returned positive for banned substances last month, alleged that his dope samples might have been tampered with as the National Anti-Doping Agency gave him two different results on the same sample collected on June 29, a claim denied by the NADA. Inderjeet, one of the 36 Indian track and field athletes who qualified for the ongoing Rio Olympics, circulated documents at a press conference which showed that the National Dope Testing Laboratory had given two different results of the A sample taken on June 29 during the National Inter-State Athletics Championships in Hyderabad.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
Shuttler PV Sindhu raised serious hopes of breaking India's long-awaited medal quest in the Rio Olympics by storming into the semifinals of the women's singles event with a stunning straight games win over London Games silver medallist Wang Yihan of China.
BCCI had expressed concern about security during the World Cup in a letter to the ICC after last month's attack in the disputed region that killed 40 Indian paramilitary troops.
The Indian Olympic Association secretary general Rajeev Mehta on Monday requested the Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan to expedite the process for the vaccination of the country's Tokyo Olympic-bound athletes and officials against COVID-19.
Here is a lowdown of all the lighthearted, fun news from around the ICC World Cup.
