An India Under-19 player by the name of Rohit Yadav has been banned for two years by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for age fraud. Legspinner Rohit was part of the Under-19 Sri Lanka tour earlier this year in July. It’s been reported that there is an age discrepancy of more than two years in his case.
Rohit’s fraud came to light during the Cricket Association of Bengal’s documentation collection. Later this month, the India Under-19 team is scheduled to play five one-day and two multi-day matches against Australia, and now Rohit will not be part of that series.
Rohit is not the only case. ESPNcricinfo has reported that as many as 64 such cases have come to the CAB’s attention, including that of Ravi Kumar, the pacer who was part of India’s Under-19 World Cup win in 2022 and picked up four wickets in the final. Ravi represented the Bengal senior team the same year, but he has not played for them since 2023. It’s understood there is an age discrepancy of more than three years in his case.
The BCCI has been very active in age fraud cases over the last few years. In 2020, it even came up with an amnesty arrangement whereby a player could avoid suspension if they admitted the age discrepancy on their own. If not, a ban awaited them upon discovery.
“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,” Former India batsman and coach Rahul Dravid said six years ago. In 2020, he held the post of the director of cricket at the National Cricket Academy.
The BCCI president at the time, former India captain Sourav Ganguly, meanwhile, said: “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.”
It’s a little disconcerting that despite BCCI’s serious efforts, such cases continue to pop up and damage the game in the country.
