Virender Sehwag only joined NADA panel on Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore’s request

New Delhi: His nonappearance from the hearings of a NADA board raising eyebrows, previous India opener Virender Sehwag today said he was hesitant to be a piece of the advisory group and joined simply because Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore had asked. 

Sehwag said he generally felt that lone Olympians ought to have been on the board of trustees and not cricketers. 

Sehwag, who was accepted into the six-part Anti Doping Appeals Panel (ADAP) of NADA in November 2017, has not possessed the capacity to go to any hearing till date.

“I feel former Olympians should be a part of the NADA panels rather than cricketers. The sportspersons in Olympic categories are more in sync with working procedure of NADA,” Sehwag told today.

“The Olympians know more than someone like me about anti-doping codes. I was initially reluctant about being a part of the panel,” Sehwag, who is known to speak his mind, said.

“I have always been a part of BCCI and I have rarely undergone dope tests, save the ICC tournaments that we played. So I have no hesitation in admitting that my knowledge is limited,” Sehwag added.

Virender Sehwag said that he decided to join the NADA panel only after a request from Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore.

“It was because of the request from the Sports Minister that I gave my consent. He told me that someone of my stature could make a difference,” Sehwag said.

He also said that he is unaware of the duration of the panel.

“I need to check the duration of the panel, whether it’s one year or two years,” he said.