Not just BCCI, Nadal and Serena also against WADA code

Mumbai: Indian cricketers' refusal to sign the WADA code isn't without a precedent in the sports arena.

Other international sportsmen and sporting bodies have also raised objections on number of occasions. But the World Anti-Doping Agency believes that with cheats getting smarter, this is the only workable solution.

The WADA was formed in 1999. It promotes, coordinates, and monitors the fight against doping in sport in all its forms. Their new whereabouts clause requires players to inform ICC, 90 days in advance (each quarter), a location and time that they will be available each day in that quarter for testing.

If the player is not in the location at the time specified, he or she will have a strike recorded against his name. Three such strikes and the player will have breached the code and can face penalties up to a two year ban.

The Indian cricketers find this clause to be unreasonable. But experts in sports medicine argue that this is now a standard procedure to root out the menace of doping.

But do India's cricketers are not the only ones who have led an outcry against the whereabouts clause. Superstars such as Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams have been vociferous critics.

"I was with my friends. Then I had a bath and my mother called me. She told me the guys were in my house in Madrid. It was my only free evening. I have to take this anti-doping control. I don't think this is a right thing to do. It's wrong. It's a high price to pay to practice your sport," Nadal says in response to the contentious clause.

Tennis star Serena is equally angry, saying: "I think it's too much. It's very invasive. Basically, they show up at your house on any day."

However, both Nadal and Serena have had no choice but to fall in line while some other stars have accepted it without much fuss.

Roger Federer for instance said: "It's a tough system, no doubt. It's an hour a day. I know it's a pain, but I would like it to be a clean sport, and that's why I'm okay with it."

Concerns about the 'whereabouts' clause in the amended WADA code is not a cricket-specific issue and has been a matter of concern in other sports, particularly FIFA.

The Football's governing body, is still not completely WADA-compliant due to similar concerns and has suggested that only players they deem as high-risk be included in the testing pool.