Former Mumbai cricketer Bhupen Lalwani is reportedly among 25 athletes from various sports who have been handed provisional suspensions by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) after returning positive dope tests, according to the latest list published by the anti-doping body, as reported by PTI.
Cricketers rarely feature on India’s doping lists, making Lalwani’s inclusion particularly noteworthy. The batter, who has represented Mumbai, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand in domestic cricket, tested positive for Terbutaline, a substance prohibited both in and out of competition unless an athlete has prior approval through a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE).
Lalwani has played 25 First-Class matches, three List A matches and two T20 matches during his domestic career. He switched to Uttarakhand ahead of the previous domestic season.
His case comes at a time when Indian sport continues to grapple with a growing doping problem across disciplines, prompting authorities to intensify efforts to tackle the issue.
RARE DOPING CASES IN CRICKET
Compared to several other sports, doping cases involving Indian cricketers remain relatively uncommon.
In 2025, Uttarakhand cricketer Rajan Kumar was found guilty of using three prohibited substances, drostanolone, methenolone and clomiphene. His case was reported as only the third known instance of an Indian cricketer failing a doping test after Prithvi Shaw in 2019 and Anshula Rao in 2020.
Kumar had represented Uttarakhand in domestic cricket and was also picked by Royal Challengers Bengaluru ahead of the IPL 2026 season before the adverse finding came to light.
The latest case involving Lalwani once again shines a spotlight on cricket’s anti-doping framework, even though the sport has largely remained insulated from the scale of violations seen in athletics, weightlifting and wrestling.
NATIONAL RECORD HOLDER AMONG ATHLETES SUSPENDED
The latest NADA list includes several high-profile athletes from across sports.
Among them is women’s 1,500m national record holder KM Deeksha, whose sample was found to contain Stanozolol, a banned anabolic steroid. Deeksha has been handed a provisional suspension pending further proceedings.
The list also includes wrestler Sahil Jaglan, who tested positive for Stanozolol. Jaglan’s case has attracted attention because he competed in the Asian Games selection trials in Lucknow on May 31 despite having already been informed of his Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) by NADA on May 26.
Jaglan was tested out of competition on March 26 and was provisionally suspended with immediate effect. He eventually lost to Deepak Punia in the men’s 97kg category during the trials.
WEIGHTLIFTING HIT BY FRESH DOPING SETBACK
Weightlifting once again emerged as one of the sports most affected by doping violations.
Five weightlifters, Ajith Narayana, Vanshita Verma, Harcharan Singh, Heena and S B Charukesh, were handed provisional suspensions.
Ajith Narayana had recently won two bronze medals at the Asian Weightlifting Championships in Gandhinagar in the men’s 71kg category. Both Ajith and Harcharan tested positive for growth hormone, while Vanshita and Heena returned positive tests for Stanozolol.
The suspensions could have wider implications for Indian weightlifting. Under Commonwealth Games qualification regulations, multiple anti-doping rule violations during the qualification period can lead to a reduction in athlete quota places available to a country.
The latest round of suspensions comes amid continuing concerns over doping in Indian sport. In 2025, reports from several national and state-level competitions highlighted the extent of the problem, with authorities discovering evidence of banned substance use at competition venues. Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya subsequently called for stronger enforcement measures and a more aggressive crackdown on doping offences.
With athletes from cricket, athletics, wrestling and weightlifting now featuring on the latest NADA list, the challenge remains as pressing as ever for Indian sport’s administrators.
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