BCCI echoes Rahul Dravid's views with stricter norms to tackle age fraud in Indian cricket

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly has decided to take up additional measures to tackle the problems of age fraud in Indian cricket. On Monday, August 3, the Indian board issued a press release stating that they will be adopting a Voluntary Discourse Scheme (VDS) for players. Under new measures, the BCCI will be imposing a two-year ban on cricketers who are proven guilty of committed age or domicile frauds.

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BCCI comes up with stricter policies on age fraud

Under the VDS scheme adopted by the BCCI for the 2020-21 season, the players who will voluntarily admit to having manipulated their age documents will be exempted from any suspension. Additionally, they will be allowed to take part in appropriate age group tournaments if they reveal their actual age with the necessary documents. The players will also be required to submit a signed letter and documents to the BCCI Age Verification Department to reveal their actual date of birth by September 15, 2020.

If the registered players do not reveal the true facts and are found of tampering documents later, they will face a two-year ban from all cricketing activities by the BCCI. Even after the completion of their suspension, they will not be allowed to participate in any age group tournaments organised by either BCCI or by state associations.

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BCCI President Sourav Ganguly said in a press release that the Indian board is aiming to provide a level-playing field across all age groups. He said that BCCI has already been taking steps to prevent age fraud but will now introduce even stricter measures for the upcoming 2020-21 Indian domestic season. Sourav Ganguly added that those who do not voluntarily disclose their misdemeanour will be “punished heavily”.  

Rahul Dravid on the age fraud issue

In September 2019, former Indian captain Rahul Dravid also spoke out about the problems of age fraud in Indian cricket. While speaking at the prize distribution ceremony of the Times Cricket Shield, Rahul Dravid said that age fraud leads to “erosion of culture” and it leads to a scenario where a lot of talented youngsters fail to get playing opportunities.

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IPL 2020 updates: When will IPL start?

The BCCI also came up with recent updates on the much-awaited Indian Premier League 2020 (IPL 2020) season. To answer the ‘When will IPL start’ query, the IPL governing council recently announced that IPL 2020 will be played between September 19 and November 10 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The call was made through a teleconference meeting on Sunday, August 2.

The decision to shift the tournament out of India was taken due to the rising number of coronavirus-positive patients in the country. While an official schedule is yet to be laid out, the IPL 2020 season is currently on course to feature 10 double-headers over the course of the 53-day tournament.

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Image credits: PTI