BCCI to impose additional measures to tackle age and domicile fraud in cricket

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on Monday (August 3), announced additional measures to tackle age and domicile fraud in their domestic competitions. These measures will come into effect from the 2020-21 season and will cover all the cricketers participating in age-group tournaments.

Players who submit fake/tampered birth certificate will be banned for 2 years from all forms cricket under the aegis of BCCI and state associations. Players won’t be allowed to participate in age-group tournaments after the completion of suspension.

BCCI has introduced a voluntary disclosure scheme for already registered players. Those who voluntarily declare that they have submitted tampered documents in the past will be allowed to participate in the appropriate age-group level when they submit their actual date of birth details before September 15, 2020.

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Cricketers committing domicile fraud, including senior men and women, will be banned from all forms of cricket for two years. Voluntary disclosure scheme is not applicable those who commit domicile fraud.

“We are committed to providing a level-playing field across all age groups. The BCCI has been taking steps to counter age fraud and are 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,” Sourav Ganguly, BCCI president, said of the new measures.

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From now on, only players who are between 14-16 years will be allowed register for Under-16 tournaments. In the case of Under-19 tournaments, restrictions on the number of years they are allowed to participate will be in place if the players are found to have registered their birth after more than 2 years of birth.

Rahul Dravid, who heads the cricket program at the National Cricket Academy, has been very vocal about the issue of age fraud in domestic cricket and has advised the players to come forward and abide by the new 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,” said Dravid.