BCCI to bar cricketers for two-years if found guilty of age fraud

Age fudging among athletes is a prevalent hack used to stretch a professional career. Cricket hasn’t been immune from this either and we’ve seen instances every now and then where a player tried to fool the system and pass by with a lower age on the records. It is often the case at the age-group level where cricketers a lot older still continue to play U19 cricket. Of late the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been cracking down on those attempting age fraud.

In a recent move the BCCI today, November 27 has issued strict guidelines on age fraud and shared it with its state associations. The board in a press release stated that any player found guilty of any act relating to age-related frauds will be banned for two years from participating in any tournament organized or approved by the body.

Zero-tolerance policy

“The BCCI has a zero-tolerance policy for age fraud in sport and has taken strict action against cricketers found guilty of manipulating their date of birth certificates while registering for BCCI tournaments,” it read.

From the ongoing 2018-19 season the enforcement will come into effect. The players found guilty of tampering with their date of birth will be disqualified and thus barred from participation in any tournament for the next two years.

“As conveyed to state associations at the start of the season, BCCI wishes to reiterate that from the 2018-19 season, any cricketer who is found guilty of tampering his/her date of birth will be disqualified and barred from participating in any BCCI tournament for a period of 2 years i.e. 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons,” the BCCI stated.

Earlier this issue was brought up by former Indian captain and currently the coach of India A and U10 teams, Rahul Dravid. During his MAK Pataudi lecture in 2015, he had used the term ‘dangerous and toxic’ for age related issues.

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