The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has slapped a Jammu and Kashmir cricketer named Vanshaj Sharma with a two-year-ban after he was caught with multiple birth certificates with different dates. The Jammu-born cricketer had reportedly shifted base to Bihar to play U-23 tournament and applied with a fake birth certificate. As a result, the cricketer now faces a two-year ban. He can return to play in senior men’s cricket matches but won’t be ever allowed to play age-group cricket in India, said the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association.
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BCCI has a strict policy to tackle age fraud in cricket; explained here in 5 points
In the year 2020 when Sourav Ganguly came in as president of the BCCI and Jay Shah as secretary, the board introduced a set of rules and regulations pertaining to age verification and player conduct in various age group tournaments. These rules are designed to maintain the integrity of age-based competition and ensure fair play.
Here’s a summary of the key points:
Voluntary Disclosure Scheme (VDS): Players who previously manipulated their date of birth using fake documents can avoid suspension by voluntarily revealing their actual date of birth before a set date. Failure to disclose may result in a 2-year ban from age group tournaments.
Fake/Tampered Birth Certificates: Starting from the 2020-21 season, any player found submitting fake or tampered birth certificates will face a 2-year suspension from all BCCI and State Unit cricket matches. After the suspension, participation in age group tournaments is prohibited.
Domicile Fraud: Cricketers found to have committed domicile fraud, including senior men and women, will also be banned for 2 years. The VDS does not apply to domicile fraud cases.
Age Restrictions: In the Under-16 age group tournament, only players aged between 14 and 16 will be allowed to register. This ensures that participants are within the specified age range.
Late Birth Registrations: In the Under-19 age group, players whose birth registrations occur more than 2 years after their actual birthdate, as per the birth certificate, will face restrictions on the number of years they can participate in BCCI Under-19 tournaments.
India coach Rahul Dravid was the head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) back then when the rules were implemented. Rahul has been the coach of several U19 teams and played a big role in ensuring one U19 player was never repeated in the World Cups. He has spoken against age fraud and been vocal in his stance since become coach.
“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,” said Rahul, some time ago.