Madhya Pradesh's Anshula Rao becomes first woman cricketer to fail dope test

It's also the first time that a cricketer - man or woman, senior or junior - has failed a dope test after the Indian cricket board (BCCI) decided to come under the ambit of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) in August last year.

New Delhi: Madhya Pradesh women cricket team's Anshula Rao has been provisionally suspended by National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) after failing a dope test.

It's also the first time that a cricketer - man or woman, senior or junior - has failed a dope test after the Indian cricket board (BCCI) decided to come under the ambit of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) in August last year.

Team India opener Prithvi Shaw was the last to have failed the dope test in June 2019 when BCCI hadn't engaged NADA as its dope sample collector and the board's anti-doping activities were instead carried out by the Sweden-based International Doping Tests & Management (IDTM). Other Indian cricketers who were previously banned for doping include Pradeep Sangwan and Yusuf Pathan.

Anshula Rao

Anshula, who is a senior squad member of Madhya Pradesh women's team, tested positive for prohibited substance '19-Norandrosterone', a detectable metabolite of nandrolone, an anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS). 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 came last month and NADA served the Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) notice of charge on the athlete, leading to her suspension.

"Anshula Rao was tested in Baroda on March 14 during an out of competition testing but it's not clear whether she was tested at her home or during the training camp for MP women cricketers," a source told a leading news agency.