Reports | Madhya Pradesh cricketer Anshula Rao fails dope test

Anshula Rao, a squad member of the Madhya Pradesh Women’s Cricket team, has reportedly become the first woman’s cricketer in India to fail a drug test for banned performance-enhancing substance. The positive test is also the first instance of an Indian cricketer failing a dope test after the Indian governing board, BCCI, decided to fall under the National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) in August last year.

Anshula is said to have tested positive for prohibited substance '19-Norandrosterone', a detectable metabolite of nandrolone, an anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS). According to a TOI report, Anshula was tested in March and NADA’s Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel (ADDP) will decide the level of punishment that will be imposed on the cricketer which, according to the report, could range between 2 to 4 years of suspension.

“The right-hand bat who bowls medium pace has been provisionally suspended by NADA after her urine sample report from Qatar's Doha laboratory showed traces of AAS in her body. The report arrived last month and NADA subsequently served the adverse analytical finding (AAF) notice of charge on the athlete, leading to her suspension. It's been learnt that the cricketer waived off her rights to 'B' sample testing,” read a TOI report on the matter.

Last year, prodigal cricketer Prithvi Shaw was handed a backdated eight month suspension after he ingested a prohibited substance whilst taking cough syrup. The BCCI also, in 2019, finally agreed to fall under NADA after vehemently opposing the same for a long time.