Sehwag in NADA's Appeals Panel, dope tainted Kunjarani in ADDP

Legendary opener Virender Sehwag and former Delhi player Vinay Lamba have been made members of the Anti-Doping Appeal Panel (ADAP) of the NADA in a rare instance of cricketers being roped in for such committees.

Sehwag and Lamba, who played 76 first-class matches for Delhi between 1967 and 1981, are in the six-member panel headed by retired judge R V Easwar.

The other members are senior advocate Vibha Datta Makhija, Dr Naveen Dang and Harsh Mahajan. The panel had a two-hour long meeting today but Sehwag did not attend it, according to sources.

In a surprise move, the NADA also appointed dope-tainted former weightlifter Kunjarani Devi as one of the members of the Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel (ADDP).

Kunjarani was suspended for six months for an anti-doping rule violation in 2001 when she tested positive for stimulant strychnine at the Asian Championships in South Korea.

She will now be among those who will decide whether an athlete is guilty of doping or not.

The ADDP has other former sportspersons in Akhil Kumar (boxing), Reeth Abraham (athletics), Jagbir Singh (hockey) and Rohit Rajpal (tennis). The panel will be headed by retired district and sessions judge Kuldeep Singh.

The other members of the ADDP are Manik Dogra (advocate), Nalin Kohli, Bina Gupta and Surbhi Mehta (all advocates), Vinod Dogra, Dr Ankit Sharma, Dr Chengappa  and Col (Dr) Sanjeev Kumar.

As per norms, any doping case is first heard by the ADDP and then the matter is referred to ADAP.

Image: Virender Sehwag

Photograph: Reuben NV/Rediff.com/File