The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on Monday, announced the new measures to curb the menace of age and domicile fraud in cricket.
“Under this scheme, players who voluntarily declare that they have manipulated their date of birth by submitting fake/tampered documents in the past will not be suspended and allowed to participate in the appropriate age group level if they disclose their actual date of birth (DOB),” the BCCI said in a statement.
“Players have to submit a signed letter/email along with supporting documents to BCCI Age Verification Dept. revealing their actual DOB before 15th September 2020,” it added.
The registered players found to have provided fake/tampered documents will, however, be banned for two years and won’t be allowed to participate in BCCI’s age-group tournaments, as well as those organised by the State Units even after serving the ban.
“All Cricketers committing Domicile fraud, including Senior Men and Women, will be banned for 2 years. Voluntary Disclosure Scheme does not apply for cricketers who have committed domicile fraud,” the statement read.
“For the BCCI Under-16 age-group tournament, only players who are between 14-16 years old will be permitted to register.
“In the Under-19 age group, if a player’s birth is found to be registered more than 2 years after birth, as mentioned in the birth certificate, then there will be restrictions on the number of years allowed to participate in the BCCI Under-19 tournaments,” it added further.
Commenting on the new measures, the BCCI President Sourav Ganguly said: “We are committed to providing a level-playing field across all age groups. The BCCI has been taking steps to counter age fraud and is now introducing even stricter measures from the upcoming domestic season. Those who do not voluntarily disclose their misdemeanour will be punished heavily and will be banned for two years.”
Batting legend and Director of National Cricket Academy (NCA), Rahul Dravid, urged the youngsters to abide by the directives.
“Age fraud is a serious matter and is detrimental to the health of the sport. Many youngsters who are supposed to be playing in a particular age group fail to make it owing to age fraud. With the BCCI taking stern actions to curb this, it is only advisable for the players to come forward and abide by the directives issued by the Board,” Dravid said.
The mobile numbers to report age or domicile fraud are 9820556566 and 9136694499.
