CHENNAI: Complaints, forged birth certificates and investigation by police leading to suspension of six players from a team once again exposed the murky world of age-fraud in the country. If one takes into consideration that four of the six were part of the core group things only get more complicated.
As many as six Hyderabad players including the one selected to lead the state team in the prestigious Vinoo Mankad Trophy (Men's U19) were banned by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for age fudging.
It is learnt that a few parents mailed the BCCI after the Hyderabad Cricket Association picked up the squad of 15 apart from five standbys for the tournament in September. In their mail which was also sent to the HCA, the parents alleged that a few players selected in the squad had submitted fake age certificates.
The BCCI then instructed the HCA to investigate the matter following which Hyderabad police was tasked with the job. "We informed the police. They investigated the issue and found six players had submitted forged birth certificates. On receiving the report, the HCA forwarded it to the BCCI a few days back. The BCCI has slapped a two-year ban on these players and subsequently, they were banned by the state association as well," HCA source told TNIE on condition of anonymity.
The HCA website mentioned the incident. In its press releases, notifications and announcements section, it said the U-19 team announced on September 24 had to be changed due to the age verification of some of the selected players. "The Chairman and members of the Junior Selection Committee met today (30-09-2024) to select replacements for certain players who have been withheld due to ongoing enquiry of age verification," read the press release.
According to the website, captain Chirag Yadav, Anudeep Javaji, Divesh Bajaj and Gone Prem were replaced from the squad of 15 while Aditya Javaji and Sai Chandra were replaced in the standbys. Anvit Reddy led the team in the tournament whose league phase was held from October 4 to 12 while the knockout rounds were played from October 17 to 26. Hyderabad were placed in Group F. They lost the quarterfinal against Chhattisgarh.
"It was a big setback for the HCA. Most of these players were the core of the team. The numbers may increase as the HCA has decided to conduct an enquiry if it receives more complaints," added the source.
Another source in the know of developments said the HCA officials on the pretext of confirming domicile asked a few players under radar about details of their Aadhaar Cards.
"They were asked to share OTPs they received but the players were reluctant which brought them under the scanner. Anyway, once the police started the investigation, everything unfolded gradually. These players allegedly had multiple birth certificates," the source said.
Before selecting the final squad, the HCA picked up 78 probables and divided them into six teams with each team consisting of 13 players. They played matches against each other between September 16 and 21 before the 15-member squad was selected. Yadav captained the D team in those selection matches as well.