Indian domestic cricket has been shaken by a rare doping case after Uttarakhand left-arm pacer Rajan Kumar tested positive for prohibited substances. The
29-year-old has been provisionally suspended by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) after failing a dope test, PTI reported on Monday, January 5.
Rajan last featured in competitive action during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025, representing Uttarakhand. His most recent outing came in a Group D encounter against Delhi, played in Ahmedabad on December 8, 2025. The pacer has not issued any statement since news of his provisional suspension emerged.
According to the report, Rajan's sample contained two anabolic steroids-Drostanolone and Metenolone-along with Clomifene. While Clomifene is commonly prescribed to treat infertility in women, it is also known to stimulate testosterone production in men, which places it on the list of banned substances under anti-doping regulations.
Before his stint in domestic cricket, Rajan had been part of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) squad during the IPL 2024 season. However, he did not make any on-field appearances for the franchise. Despite that, his association with an IPL team makes the case particularly noteworthy, given how infrequently cricketers are caught violating anti-doping norms.
Doping violations have remained relatively uncommon in Indian cricket. The last prominent case involved Prithvi Shaw in 2019, when the batter tested positive for Terbutaline and was subsequently handed an eight-month ban by the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Shaw accepted the Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) at the time but maintained that the ingestion was accidental, attributing it to an over-the-counter cough syrup. In 2020, Madhya Pradesh all-rounder Anshula Rao was also found guilty of a doping offence.
India's broader battle with doping has drawn attention in recent years. Despite cricket's clean image, the country has topped the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) list for the highest number of doping violations for three consecutive years across all sports. With India set to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games in Ahmedabad and bidding for the 2036 Olympic Games, the issue has become increasingly sensitive.
