NADA RTP Update: Abhishek Sharma, Axar Patel added to testing pool
India's T20 World Cup stars Abhishek Sharma and Axar Patel have joined NADA's Registered Testing Pool for 2026, replacing Smriti Mandhana and Shreyas Iyer. This elite list of 348 athletes, including prominent cricketers, track and field stars, and Olympians, ensures rigorous anti-doping checks. NADA's updated roster underscores its commitment to fair play across all sports.
Abhishek Sharma and Axar Patel, India's T20 World Cup-winning players have been added to the National Anti-Doping Agency’s (NADA) Registered Testing Pool (RTP) for the second quarter of the year 2026, replacing Smriti Mandhana and Shreyas Iyer in the updated list. NADA is India’s apex anti-doping body, responsible for promoting, coordinating, and monitoring the fight against doping in sports. It functions in line with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code and ensures that athletes compete in a clean and fair environment.
As part of its responsibilities, NADA conducts dope testing, manages results, and enforces sanctions in cases of violations. The RTP is a crucial component of this system. It includes elite athletes who are required to regularly submit their whereabouts, including details of their location and training schedules, so they can be tested at any time, both in and out of competition.
Athletes must be available for testing during a specified one-hour window each day, and three failures to comply with these requirements can be treated as a doping violation. The latest RTP list comprises 348 athletes across disciplines. The cricket contingent remains largely unchanged, featuring prominent names such as Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Arshdeep Singh, and Tilak Varma.
From the women’s team, Deepti Sharma, Shafali Verma, and Renuka Singh Thakur continue to be included. In total, 14 cricketers feature in the pool. Athletics continues to dominate the RTP, with its representation increasing from 118 to 134 athletes.