Mumbai/New Delhi: Jul 21 (PTI): Indian spinner Rahul Sharma’s participation in the one-day series against Sri Lanka was on Friday thrown into jeopardy after he tested positive for consumption of drugs in a rave party in Mumbai in May, making his arrest inevitable.
On the eve of the series opener at Hambantota, the Indian camp was rocked by the shocking development of the young leg-spinner testing positive along with South African pace bowler Wayne Parnell.
The two were among many celebrities who attended a rave party at a plush hotel in Juhu and Mumbai Police confirmed that they were among the 42 who tested positive for drugs.
The BCCI, however, stood by the cricketer and said it would investigate the matter thoroughly before deciding the future course of action. “I don’t know why everyone is in a mood to execute Rahul Sharma without even going into the details,” Srinivasan told PTI.
“The BCCI will first procure each and every bit of relevant information and then study them before deciding on the course of action,” he added. The Indian team’s media manager Ravi Jain said that they have not received any communication in this regard from the BCCI. “We have not received any communication from BCCI, So, it would not be proper for me to comment anything on this at this stage,” Jain told PTI.
Jain also declined to comment whether the spinner would be fielded for Saturday’s match in the wake of the recent development.
Mumbai Police received reports of blood samples of 44 out of the 90 people, who had attended the sundown party at Oakwood Premier Hotel in Juhu. “Of the 44, two females tested negative, while the rest are positive,” Deputy Police Commissioner Pratap Digha-okar said.
Actors Apurva Agnihotri, Anshuman Jha, Parth Sharma, Amit Gaur, famous fashion designer Rocky S, cricketer Bishan Singh Bedi’s son Angad Bedi, celebrities Rahul Dahia, Kartik Jobanputra, DJ brothers Dipesh Sharma and Rakesh Sharma and the hotel director Vishay Handa were among the 44 people who tested positive.
Among those tested positive in the report, 35 had consumed cannabis, three had consumed cannabis as well as cocaine and four others had consumed cannabis and MDMA aka Ecstasy.