KKR may lose the services of Nitish Rana and Shivam Mavi over age-fudging

Age fudging has been one of the most problematic things in cricket given that many of the players use fraudulent ways to reduce their ages in age-group cricket to gain undue advantage. We have all about Shahid Afridi remaining young for immortality and he himself revealing in his book that he was 21 and not 16 as suggested when he hit the 37-ball century in 1996.

There were even eyebrows raised over the ages of Pakistan’s new bowling sensations Naseem Shah and Muhammad Musa. Even in India, age-fudging in group-age games has become a menace despite the vigilance of authorities and an instance was seen in Delhi cricket when two well-known names, who are part of Kolkata Knight Riders franchise came under investigation.

Nitish Rana was one of the 22 players banned by BCCI for the same reason in 2015

Delhi batsman Nitish Rana and Uttar Pradesh fast bowler Shivam Mavi, who are both parts of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) squad for the upcoming season in 2020, are being investigated for their involvement in age-fudging. If allegations are proven true, KKR might lose the services of these players for IPL 2020.

Nitish Rana was one of the 22 players banned by BCCI for the same reason in 2015 and though he is ineligible for age group cricket being 26 years of age now, it is highly unlikely that he might be banned from senior cricket. A decision on Rana’s future in the game is pending. On the other hand, Shivam Mavi was one of the breakout stars for the India U19 team which won the Youth World Cup in 2018. He, along with Kamlesh Nagarkoti, starred with the ball and impressed everyone with his pace.

18-year-old Mavi has played 6 FC games and 16 List-A matches so far and his case has been referred to the BCCI. He is expected to be one of the biggest stars for the KKR franchise in the upcoming IPL season and a ban on him might put their plans in disarray. Delhi Capital’s Manjot Kalra, who scored a century in the finals of the U19 World Cup which Indian team won, has already been banned for two years by DDCA from participating in the age-group cricket.

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