Vengsarkar praises BCCI's move to battle overage menace, domicile fraud

Vidarbha players celebrate after winning the U-23 CK Nayudu Trophy semi-final v Mumbai earlier this year. Pic for representation purpose

Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar has appreciated BCCI's fresh attempt to tackle the overage menace and domicile frauds.

The Board introduced the Voluntary Disclosure Scheme, where 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. The last date to do so is September 15.

If registered players do not disclose the facts and are found to have submitted fake/tampered date of birth documents to the BCCI, they will be banned for two years and will not be allowed to participate in age-group tournaments of the BCCI and its state units. The same applies to players registering for the first time and commit domicile frauds.

Dilip Vengsarkar

'Bone test not authentic'
"Players should be given one chance because the bone test is not 100 per cent authentic," Vengsarkar told mid-day on Monday. However, the former national chief selector stressed on the need to educate parents in the first place.

"You will have to educate parents, especially from the Northern part of India. The lure of recognition forces them to manipulate documents. So, their son, who is actually 16, goes hammer and tongs in the U-14 category. I always provide the example of Sachin Tendulkar to parents. He played against bigger boys and still got many runs. That's why he was so successful," said Vengsarkar, 64, a veteran of 116 Tests and 129 ODIs.

Dinesh Lad, the first coach of India players Rohit Sharma and Shardul Thakur, wants the BCCI and state associations to have zero-tolerance towards age frauds. "It is highly unlikely that any player would come forward and voluntary accept his fault and provide his real date of birth. There should be strict action on players who are producing fake age proof and such players should be banned from playing at any age group tournaments till the U-23 level," said Lad, who guided the Mumbai U-16 team to victory in the Vijay Merchant Trophy last season.

Vengsarkar blamed the school coaches for the rise in overage cases. "They are responsible for this. They just want to win titles at any cost and encourage players to manipulate their age," he said.

Lad felt parents are overly keen to see their child represent the state at an early age. "Yet, around 50 per cent boys from some schools are fudging their age by providing false documents," said Lad, who coached Swami Vivekanand International School in Borivli.

Nafees Khan, the coach of Al Barkaat MMI School (Kurla), who are defending champions of the Harris Shield (U-16) and Giles Shield (U-14) runners-up, said the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) is quite serious in curbing age-fudging.

Also Read: BCCI's SOPs to state units on training resumption: Players must sign consent form, 60-plus barred

Al Barkaat coach pleased
"The MCA has been quite strict about it for the last few years and we are getting good results. But if boys from other state teams are age-fudging, it affects Mumbai's performance. So, there should be strict action against such players," said Nafees.

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news