BCCI not to punish players if they admit to age fudging, two-year ban otherwise

The board has stated that it will ban players up to two years if they are found guilty of submitting falsified documents to commit age fraud.

Players have to submit a signed letter/email along with supporting documents to BCCI age verification department revealing their actual DOB before 15 September 2020. (REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE)

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has adopted a Voluntary Disclosure Scheme to tackle age fraud in age group tournaments. The board has stated that it will ban players up to two years if they don't admit to submitting falsified documents.

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 are now introducing even stricter measures from the upcoming domestic season."

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"Age fraud is a serious matter and is detrimental to the health of the sport," said Rahul Dravid, who heads cricket operations at the National Cricket Academy, Bangalore. "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.”

To counter the menace of age and domicile fraud in cricket, BCCI has adopted the below mentioned additional measures which will be applicable to all cricketers participating in the BCCI age-group tournaments, from season 2020-21 onwards.

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).

1. Players have to submit a signed letter/email along with supporting documents to BCCI age verification department revealing their actual DOB before 15 September 2020.

However, if registered players do not disclose the facts and are found to have submitted fake/tampered DOB proof documents by BCCI, then they will be banned for 2 years, and after completion of 2-year suspension, they will not be allowed to participate in age group tournaments of BCCI, as well as, age group tournaments organized by the State Units.

2.     Season 2020-21 onwards, any player submitting fake/tampered birth certificate will be banned for 2 years from all cricket matches under the aegis of BCCI & State Units. After completion of 2-year suspension, such players will not be allowed to participate in age group tournaments of BCCI, as well as, age group tournaments organized by State Units.

3.     All Cricketers committing Domicile fraud, including Senior Men & Women, will be banned for 2 years. Voluntary Disclosure Scheme does not apply for cricketers who have committed domicile fraud.

4.     For the BCCI Under-16 age group tournament, only players who are between 14-16 years old will be permitted to register.

5.     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.

The BCCI has a dedicated 24X7 helpline (9820556566 / 9136694499) for anyone to report age fraud.