New Additions to India's Anti-Doping Testing Pool Include T20 World Cup Champions

Abhishek Sharma and Axar Patel, stars of India's T20 World Cup-winning team, have been added to the National Anti-Doping Agency's Registered Testing Pool. They replace Smriti Mandhana and Shreyas Iyer in a list that now includes 348 athletes, primarily from athletics. The article details the implications of this inclusion, the athletes involved, and the growing representation of various sports in the RTP. Discover more about the athletes and the significance of these changes in the anti-doping landscape.

By Narendra Chaudhary Apr 15, 2026, 19:38 IST

India's Cricket Stars Join Anti-Doping Testing Pool

India's T20 World Cup champions, Abhishek Sharma and Axar Patel, have been newly included in the National Anti-Doping Agency's (NADA) Registered Testing Pool (RTP) for the second quarter of this year. They replace Smriti Mandhana and Shreyas Iyer in a list that now comprises 348 athletes, primarily from athletics. These athletes are required to inform the agency of their whereabouts and be available for testing during designated times each day. Missing three whereabouts notifications is classified as a doping violation.

The cricketing contingent remains largely unchanged, with notable players such as Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, K L Rahul, Arshdeep Singh, and Tilak Verma included. From the women's squad, which achieved a historic ODI World Cup victory last year, all-rounder Deepti Sharma and Shafali Verma, along with Renuka Singh Thakur, continue to be part of the RTP. In total, 14 cricketers are now registered with NADA.

The number of athletes from athletics has increased from 118 to 134, featuring prominent names like steeplechaser Avinash Sable, hurdler Jyothi Yarraji, decathlete Tejaswin Shankar, and sprinter Animesh Kujur. Long jumpers Shaili Singh and M Sreeshankar, as well as discus thrower Tajinderpal Singh Toor, are also included.

Additionally, the list comprises three archers: veteran Deepika Kumari, Rakesh Kumar, and celebrated para-archer Sheetal Devi. In hockey, senior players such as Manpreet Singh, captain Harmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, and Hardik Singh are featured, along with women's team captain Salima Tete, Savita Punia, and Navneet Kaur.

The badminton section includes eight athletes, with P V Sindhu, Lakshya Sen, and Gayatri Gopichand among them. The boxing category lists 22 athletes, including world medallists Nikhat Zareen, Nishant Dev, and Jaismine Lamboria, along with Olympic bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain. Wrestlers also make up a significant portion of the registered athletes, with 31 names, including Olympic bronze winner Aman Sehrawat.