In a major decision to guarantee equity in junior cricket, the Cricket Control Council in India (BCCI) has updated its age verification program (AVP). The decision was made at a recent meeting of the Apex Council to stop age grinding, which has disturbed junior cricket for years.
The biggest change is that young players will now be allowed to take a second bone test if necessary. So far, only a unique test has been authorized for boys aged 14 to 16 and girls aged 12 to 15, and this test would decide their future in BCCI age level tournaments.
BCCI reorganizes age test policy to slow down age fraud in junior cricket
In the previous system, BCCI used X -ray analyzes to check the bone age of a player. Then, they would add a year to this number to obtain the player’s “mathematical age”, which was the age used to determine if the player was eligible for playing in U-16 or U-16 tournaments.
Your daily cricket dose!
For example, if the age of a boy’s bone was 14.8 years, his mathematical age would be counted as 15.8 years, which means that it is eligible to play in the U-16 category for this season. But at the same time, the same player would not be eligible to play the following year, even if his real age was even less than 16 years old, according to official documents.
This has often led to frustration and confusion among players and parents, especially for those who were truly within the age limit. With the new rule allowing a second test, the board of directors hopes to offer a more precise and equitable process, giving deserving players a better chance to compete.
Read also: Stuart Broad Picks 10 Best Cricket drummers, Virat Kohli withdrawn from the summit
BCCI allows a second bone test to ensure equity in junior cricket
In a new update, the BCCI will now allow junior players to pass a second bone test if their official documents show that they are still under the age of cut. This change will help cricket players who may have been wrongly excess due to the limits of bone tests.
Well, bone tests are based on science, but they are not always 100%precise, so the board of directors gives real young talents another chance of proving their eligibility and continuing to play in age group tournaments during the second test.
The Board Indian Cricket has taken this stage after years of age fraud problems in junior cricket. Many players have proven to lie about their age to get an unfair advantage. In some shocking cases, even the parents tried to deceive the system by sending younger brothers and sisters for bone tests, pretending to be the player.
Players must submit an Aadhaar card for the bone test
The BCCI has taken strong measures against such cheating and introduced strict rules to stop it. The BCCI Indian Cricket made it mandatory for all players to submit an Aadhaar card with a recent photo before passing the bone test in order to make the process safer and fairer.
This process will ensure that only the right player is undergoing the bone test.
OS Age tests are carried out each year, generally in July and August, when council officials go to each state. Tests are carried out in officially approved hospitals, and each condition obtains a time slot. On average, around 40 to 50 boys and 20 to 25 girls are tested in each state.
Read also: Sanjay Manjrekar admits to block Shubman Gill de ..