Sarfaraz Khan's brother Musheer served a 3-year ban by MCA for 'indiscipline'

It seems cricket administration in India is becoming stricter with each passing day. After the suspension of two national players – Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul – in the wake of their controversial presence on a television show, another instance of penalising a cricketer has happened in the country’s cricketing circles. The latest incident though involves a teenage cricketer who is the captain of the Mumbai Under-16 team Musheer Khan and he has been banned for three years on charges of ‘indiscipline’.

It is reported that the cricketer made obscene gestures towards teammate Vedanta Gadia while the two were in the middle of an altercation. Gadia lodged a complaint and the team manager Vighnesh Kadam reported of the incident to the MCA. The association formed an ad-hoc committee to hear the matter. They took the statements of Gadia, Kadam as well as Musheer they also talked to the team coach Sandesh Kawle, other U16 players Varun Rao and Saurabh Singh, as well as chief selector of the U16 team Atul Ranade.

The 13-year-old was handed the ban by Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) on January 17 pertaining to which the left-arm spinner will not be able to take part in any MCA tournament, let alone representing Mumbai at any level. It will keep him off the field until January 2022. For the talented Musheer, who received a special award from legend Sachin Tendulkar along with India’s teenage sensation Prithvi Shaw in 2013 at an MCA programme, it is a huge blow.

The decision came after one of Musheer’s team-mates Vedanta Gadia accused him of ‘ugly behaviour’ with him during a game in the U16 Vijay Merchant Trophy in Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh, a few weeks ago. Musheer is the younger brother of Sarfaraz Khan, former India U19 player who also plays for Mumbai.

The suspension letter was signed by MCA chief executive CS Naik and Unmesh Khanvilkar. It was addressed to Musheer and states: “The ad-hoc managing committee found you guilty of gross misconduct and bringing the name of the association to disrepute. It was also noted that you have failed in your duties as captain of the team by resorting to the ugliest behaviour which has shocked the entire team and the committee.”

Can’t compromise with discipline, says MCA official

The MCA officials though said they had sympathy for the boy, yet they decided to maintain the line to ensure that discipline is not compromised with. “We took this decision considering the seriousness of the situation. We’ve sympathy for the boy but we’ve to draw a line somewhere when it comes to discipline. Being the captain, he should’ve set an example,” Times of India quoted MCA Joint Secretary Unmesh Khanvilkar as saying.

There were voices in support of Musheer, including that of his father and coach Naushad Khan. While Naushad said they would appeal against the harsh decision taken on his son, former managing committee member and current secretary of Mumbai School Sports Association Nadeem Memon criticised the MCA and alleged that it was a case of a personal grudge.

He said the teenager could have been let off with a final warning and questioned the move of slapping him with a ban without serving a show-cause notice.

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