Indian cricket has been plunged into a rare doping incident with the Uttarakhand pacer Rajan Kumar testing positive for three banned substances, with the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) stepping in promptly. Reportedly, this left-arm pacer has been provisionally suspended as of January 5, 2021, marking one of the rare doping cases in recent years involving Indian cricketers. Doping cases in Indian cricket is very rare. The last major case was in 2019, when Prithvi Shaw was banned for doping with Terbutaline. In 2020, Anshula Rao, an all-rounder from Madhya Pradesh, also failed a dope test and was suspended from competitive cricket. Who is Rajan Kumar? The suspension came during a high point in Rajan Kumar's career, when he was having an exceptionally good domestic season. Born in Haridwar, and aged 29, he represented Uttarakhand in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025, which ended last month. Rajan was roped in by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in IPL 2023 Auction for INR 70 Lakhs after his stong peformance in domestic circuit. Although he was not given a chance to play, he gained immense experience from bowling seasoned Indian and overseas batters in the RCB nets. Rajan was the leading wicket-taker for Uttarakhand in the tournament, picking up 13 wickets in seven innings, with excellent bowling figures with a strike rate of 8.34 and four wickets in a match, thus underlining his significance in this short format. Rajan shows the incremental improvement of his bidding for domestic recognition across formats. He played four First-Class matches, taking eight wickets in eight innings; and featured in nine List-A games, claiming 14 wickets, including a five-wicket haul. He has taken 32 wickets in T20 cricket in 26 innings, which also includes a four-wicket haul. However, there is yet to be an official statement from Rajan Kumar after the announcement of his provisional suspension upon his samples' positive tests. Also Read | Devdutt Padikkal Enters Record Books with Unique VHT Milestone Rajan Kumar's Domestic Career Format Matches Innings Wickets BBI First-Class 4 8 8 2/20 List A 9 9 14 5/28 T20s 26 26 32 4/37 SMAT 2025 7 7 13 4/37 Government Awakens Demand for Restructuring on Anti-Doping In light of the recent happenings, India’s Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya sent an unequivocal signal to authorities pushing for a tougher approach to doping. Sources told India Today Mandaviya has instructed SAI and NADA to conduct aggressive awareness campaigns and take strict measures against repeat offenders. The renewed focus on anti-doping comes at an important moment, with India in the running to host the Commonwealth Games 2030 in Ahmedabad and actively eyeing the 2036 Olympic Games. These persisting doping issues continue to undermine the country sporting credibility to a huge extent on the world platform.