Age fudging has been one of the most talk-about things in Indian cricket as most of the cricketers keep on finding fraudulent ways to reduce their ages in age-group cricket to gain undue advantage. We have all about Shahid Afridi remaining young for immortality and he himself revealing in his book that he was 21 and not 16 as suggested when he hit the 37-ball century in 1996.
There were a lot of questions being raised over the ages of Pakistan’s new bowling sensations Naseem Shah and Muhammad Musa. Even in India, age-fudging in group-age games has become a threat despite the vigilance of authorities and an instance was seen in Delhi cricket when two well-known names, who are part of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) franchise came under investigation.
Delhi batsman Nitish Rana and Uttar Pradesh fast bowler Shivam Mavi, who are both parts KKR squad for the upcoming season in 2020, are being investigated for their involvement in age-fudging. If accusations are proved true, KKR might lose the services of these players for IPL 2020.
ALSO READ: Anil Kumble Feels MS Dhoni’s Future Will Be Decided After IPL 2020
Rana was one of the 22 players banned by BCCI for the same reason in 2015 and though he is ineligible for age group cricket being 26 years of age now, it is highly unlikely that he might be banned from senior cricket. A decision on Rana’s future in the game is pending.
On the other hand, Shivam Mavi earned a name for himself while playing for the India U19 team which won the Youth World Cup in 2018. He, along with Kamlesh Nagarkoti, starred with the ball and impressed everyone with his pace. 18-year-old Mavi has played 6 FC games and 16 List-A matches so far and his case has been referred to the BCCI. He is expected to be one of the upcoming stars for the KKR franchise in the upcoming IPL season and a ban on him might put their plans in disarray.
ALSO READ: Jasprit Bumrah Looking Forward To Making More Memories In 2020
Delhi Capital’s Manjot Kalra, who scored a century in the finals of the U19 World Cup which Indian team won, has already been banned for two years by DDCA from participating in the age-group cricket.
