REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO: India's Abhishek Sharma celebrates his century with Sanju Samson during the third T20 International against New Zealand in Wellington on October 27, 2026. Photo: AP
\n\nThe World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has upgraded the International Cricket Council (ICC) to Tier 1 under its prioritisation policy, citing cricket’s return to the Olympic Games at Los Angeles 2028. India, meanwhile, continues to face strictest scrutiny in the body’s Compliance Monitoring Program.
\n\nThe revised WADA Code Signatory Tiers for International Federations (IFs), National Anti-Doping Organisations (NADOs) and Major Event Organisations (MEOs) will come into effect on January 1, 2027. The ICC was previously placed in Tier 2.
\n\nCricket will return to the Olympic programme after more than 100 years at the 2028 Los Angeles Games, prompting the change in the sport’s compliance classification.
\n\n“IF tiers are based on whether sports are included in the Olympic or Paralympic programmes and on their combined Minimum Levels of Analysis (MLAs) taken from the Technical Document for Sport Specific Analysis (TDSSA),” WADA stated.
\n\nThe MLA specifies a percentage of eligible tests that must be conducted on international-level athletes. It applies to testing carried out by all anti-doping organisations.
\n\nThe top tier comes with tighter compliance requirements.
Original source: https://www.timesnownews.com/sports
