Juhu rave party : Cricketer Rahul Sharma found positive
Mumbai. Indian spinner Rahul Sharma and South African cricketer Wayne Parnell, who were detained during a raid on a rave party in Mumbai, have tested positive for drugs consumed at the high-profile party in May. Both players, who represented Pune Warriors India (PWI) in the lucrative T20 tournament’s fifth edition, were among the approximately 100 people detained by the Mumbai Police
On the eve of the first one day internation match with sri lanka the Indian camp was rocked by the shocking development.
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 said.
“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.
Earlier, the South African left-arm pacer, had claimed that he and fellow teammate Rahul Sharma were innocent and that they were “at the wrong place at the wrong time” after being detained during the raid at Juhu’s Oakwood Hotel.
“We weren’t aware of any drugs there or any rave party. It is unfortunate we were there. But at the end of the day, it was just a simple case of being at a wrong place at the wrong time,” Mr Parnell had said.
Sharma, his PWI team mate and India spinner, had asserted, “I am sure my results won’t be positive.If tests are positive, I’ll quit cricket.”
Apart from the cricketers, TV actor Apurva Agnihotri, fashion designer Rocky S and former cricketer Bishan Singh Bedi’s son have also tested positive.
During the raid, the police had also seized 110 grams of cocaine and MDMA from the hotel.
The Indian team’s media manager Ravi Jain said that they have not received any communication in this regard from the BCCI yet.
“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 said.
Jain also declined to comment whether the spinner would be fielded for Saturday’s match in the wake of the recent development.
The Mumbai Police on Friday 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 Dighaokar said.
These 44 people include two IPL cricketers Rahul and Parnell (both played for Pune Warriors India) and 38 women, police sources said.
On June 22, city police had declared the results of 46 of the 90 people’s blood samples, who attended the party, in which 44 tested positive, police said.
