BCCI unlikely to take action on Rajvardhan Hangargekar's age fraud allegation

India’s U19 star Rajvardhan Hangargekar was accused of age fraud by the Maharashtra Sports Ministry. The Commissioner of Sports and Youth Services, Om Prakash Bakoria stated that Hangargekar had conducted himself against the ethics of sport.

Adding that such a behaviour from Hangargekar might lead to damages to the reputation of India, Bakoria opined that strict action should be taken against Hangargekar.

“The conduct of Mr Rajvardhan Hangargekar is against the sport’s integrity and ethics. lt deprives fair play and results into damages to the reputation of the nation. Therefore, you are requested to take strict action in accordance with the law,” stated Bakoria in his letter to Jay Shah, who is the current BCCI Secretary.

Rajvardhan Hangargekar had completed 21 years when he took part in the U19 World Cup: Om Prakash Bakoria

Om Prakash Bakoria also alleged that Hangargekar’s date of birth was manually changed from 10th January 2001 to 10th November 2002 by the Headmaster of the Terna Public School. Bakoria further said that Hangargekar had already completed 21 years by the time he took part in the ICC Under 19 World Cup.

“lf the Head Master requires any corrections in birth date, it is necessary to take prior permission of Education officer of concerned district. However, no such permission has been taken for making changes in the birth date of Mr. Rajvardhan Hangargekar from 10/01/2001 to 10/11/2002 by the Head Master of Terna Public School, Osmanabad. As per the report of Chief Executive Officer (lAS), Zilla Parishad, Osmanabad, the birth date of said player is 10/01/2001 and therefore, he has completed 21 years of age at the time of tournament,” Bakoria alleged.

However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is unlikely to act on this issue. A BCCI official stated that Hangargekar had first played for Maharashtra in 2016, and tests had confirmed that his age was the same as stated in the document.