Lack of drug-testing culture in India to blame - Speed

Malcolm Speed, chief executive of the ICC, has blamed the ICC's shortcomings with regard to implementing the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Code during the Champions Trophy on the lack of drug-testing culture in India.

"The current ICC Champions Trophy is our first tournament since we became signatories to the WADA Code and it has presented us with some challenging issues,'' Speed said in a statement on Tuesday. "These issues are logistical ones and are understandable given no infrastructure or culture of drug-testing exists currently in India, and when these issues have been raised with us we have worked hard to ensure they have been dealt with."

Speed was responding to a top WADA official's criticism on Monday that the ICC had an unprofessional attitude towards fighting the drug menace in the sport.

"We've been on many doping control testing missions with lots of federations," Yousef Hasan, the WADA official said. "We've been dealing with them professionally and they've been dealing back very professionally as well. But unfortunately, I can't say the same thing about ICC."

Hasan reportedly mentioned that the two WADA officials who were to collect samples from players for random testing at each match were not provided with enough privacy at the venue. He added that the WADA officials were forced to share their rooms with others, which compromised the testing process.

Speed said that he would meet with WADA officials today and also speak to David Howman, the WADA director general, to see if they had any additional concerns.