‘BCCI has taken some very strict steps to counter age fraud’

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) general manager of Game Development Prof Ratnakar Shetty said that the Indian board has taken stringent measures to counter the menace of over-age players in the country. With so much competition around the country the board has been dealing with this issue for many decades now.

"The problem of overage cricketers is a menace in our country and we need to fight this problem. The BCCI has taken some very strict steps to counter this problem to make sure that only those who are eligible should get a chance to play in age-group cricket," Shetty said on the sidelines of the Coca Cola under 16 tournament function held here on Monday.

This is a constant problem in age group cricket because there is so much competition and parents want their child to do well and reach a particular level so there are always compromises made. However, it was only last season when the BCCI came up with strict guidelines to check the problem and has made bone tests compulsory due to which a lot of offenders have been caught recently. Every association saw more than 20 players declared overage in age group categories after the board implemented new X-ray test which is also known as TW3 (Tanner-Whitehouse3) method of testing age of particular players.

Using advanced scientific methods to determine age, the BCCI has caught 230 overage cricketers playing in the under-16 category across the country.

"There were children who wanted to qualify on basis of their birth certificates but we made X-ray tests compulsory along with it and the results were good. When you are playing U 16 cricket you should have a level-playing field and the young boys should get opportunities on basis of their cricketing talent alone. If an overage boy takes part in that age group then it is a disadvantage for the other boys who are under the age of 16. Also, the over-age players end up as failures in their senior career and they also spoil careers of good players in the age group cricket," he explained.

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