Sharjah: Dr Vece Paes, the former Olympic hockey bronze medallist and father of tennis star Leander Paes, is here on a mission — to conduct dope tests on players during the Indian Premier League.
“I have been appointed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to conduct dope tests,” Paes told Gulf News. “The players are now tested during matchplay and training.”
When asked whether the tests are being done under the directives of International Cricket Council (ICC), Paes, who has years of experience in the field, said: “The ICC has been conducting dope test for many years but this initiative is by the BCCI. We follow the rules of the ICC. In fact, I have been doing this for Asian Cricket Council (ACC) too.”
In his capacity as Asian Cricket Council’s (ACC) Sports Medicine and Fitness consultant, Dr Paes has also worked on anti-doping procedures. “I have been also doing age verification tests, especially in junior tournaments. All these are aimed to ensure a clean contest.”
Paes has in the past also worked on the peak performance programme for cricketers. “The peak performance programme is all about lifestyle that needs to be followed by cricketers,” he said. “It covers many things like the kind of food they should eat, their sleeping postures and even the recreation that they go for. It is designed in such a way that their entire lifestyle should lead them to fitness.
“I also make sure that there is standardisation of medical facilities.”
Asked about the Dubai Cricket Stadium, Paes, who has visited the Sharjah Cricket Stadium several times to conduct courses for cricketers and coaches on fitness and medical aspects, said: “The facilities for cricket in the UAE are fantastic. A good transport system to Dubai Stadium will be very helpful for the fans. What has always impressed me is the enthusiasm for cricket in the UAE and they getting a chance to watch IPL is the right reward for them.”
