Axar Patel and Abhishek Sharma enter National Anti-Doping Agency radar amid IPL 2026

A fresh update has put India National Cricket Team opener Abhishek Sharma and all-rounder Axar Patel in the spotlight, but not for their performance in the ongoing Indian Premier League 2026 (IPL 2026). The latest reason shows the rise of Abhishek Sharma and Axar Patel in sports.

While Axar is leading the Delhi Capitals (DC), Abhishek is the vice-captain of the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the ongoing IPL 2026, and the performance of both teams is almost similar so far.

Abhishek Sharma and Axar Patel make it to NADA Registered Testing Pool

Well, as reported by PTI, players Abhishek Sharma and Axar Patel have now been added to India’s National Anti-Doping Agency’s (NADA) Registered Testing Pool (RTP), which means stricter rules and more responsibility for these Indian stars.

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Axar and Abhishek are now part of NADA’s RTP, where athletes are closely tracked, for the second quarter of the ongoing year, after their recent success and growing importance in the team. Overall, 14 Indian cricketers are part of the latest NADA’s RTP, featuring 348 athletes.

Under this system, the players must regularly share their location details with the NADA and remain available for surprise testing at any time during a fixed daily window. If a player fails to provide their whereabouts three times, it is treated like a doping violation, which can lead to serious trouble in their career.

Shreyas Iyer and Smriti Mandhana miss the list

With Axar and Abhishek’s inclusion in NADA, India Women's superstar Smriti Mandhana and Punjab Kings (PBSK) captain Shreyas Iyer are no longer part of this updated list. However, Deepti Sharma, Shafali Verma, and Renuka Singh Thakur are still part of NADA.

At the same time, many big names continue to be part of this system. Indian players like Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Arshdeep Singh, and Tilak Varma remain part of the National Anti-Doping Agency’s Registered Testing Pool.

Abhishek Sharma's batting struggles continue

Speaking about Abhishek Sharma’s performance in the ongoing IPL 2026, the SRH opener has been going through a rough patch as his inconsistent performance continues with the bat after a poor T20 World Cup 2026 campaign at home.

The left-handed batter has so far amassed only 129 runs in 5 matches at an impressive strike rate of 215.00. He is currently the key player of India’s T20I setup.

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Presently, Sunrisers Hyderabad are sitting in fourth place in the points table with 2 wins and 3 losses. The SRH team is currently led by Ishan Kishan as the regular captain Pat Cummins recovers from an injury.

Axar Patel yet to hit his form in IPL 2026

On the other hand, this is Axar Patel’s second year as captain of Delhi Capitals. The all-rounder has led the team to 2 wins and 2 losses so far this season. Though the spinner has managed only 3 wickets in 4 games that DC has so far played in the ongoing tournament.

Axar has now become one of India’s most reliable all-rounders in all three formats of the game. He has been part of India's three back-to-back ICC trophy wins (2024 T20 World Cup, 2025 Champions Trophy, and 2026 T20 World Cup) and played a key role in each success.