Cricket is a game that has reached a massive number of people. Naturally, there are all sorts of people involved with the game and very often the game gets a bad name due to the select and small number of people. The biggest sources of fraud that have surrounded the game involve age frauds and falsehood relating to domicile. BCCI, however, seems to have taken these menace seriously and has recently put forward a number of measures to tackle the same.
In a release, the board said: “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”. The board 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 is now introducing even stricter measures from the upcoming domestic season.
“Those who do not voluntarily disclose their misdemeanor will be punished heavily and will be banned for two years”.
The board laid out additional measures that are applicable to professionals taking part in the age-group tournaments starting the coming 2020-2021 season. BCCI had asked all the players to submit a letter or an email along with supporting documents to the Age Verification Department and reveal the actual DOB. This has to be done before 15th September 2020. Batting head and Indian veteran from NCA, Rahul Dravid said that “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”.
Jay Shah, the secretary of the board, stresses upon the responsibility of the board, as the governing body of cricket in India, to ensure appropriate checks and protocols are applied to assure players of a level playing field. He said, “BCCI has a zero-tolerance approach towards age fraud in cricket. Not only have we dedicated a 24/7 helpline to counter this menace, but the Board also has a system in place that thoroughly examines, and cross-verifies documents submitted by its registered players. The Voluntary Disclosure Scheme will provide those who have committed the fraud a chance to come forward and admit their offense”.
In the complete release, the board has made it clear that it will be swift in dealing with cases of forgery. A straight two-year ban will be forced upon the players. Moreover, in cases arising in the coming season, players have a risk of getting themselves suspended for two months and will lose the chance of playing age-group tournaments again. Interestingly, the guidelines include all-male as well as female professionals. Senior women and men would be banned for a period of two years. Domicile fraud is, however, not a part of the voluntary disclosure scheme. Importantly, a dedicated helpline (9820556566/9136694499) is also initiated by the board for reporting such cases. It will interesting to see if harsh penalties could clear the age-old mess of the cricketing arena in our country.
A student who enjoys studying cricket more than anything else, keen to learn the insights of the women’s game.
