Age fudging now a criminal offence

Mumbai junior cricket has one of the best setups in the country, but age fudging has dented its credibility. The Mumbai Cricket Association has been in the dock as many junior cricketers have been caught tampering with their age certificates in inter-school competitions. While the MCA has in the past taken several measures such as bone marrow tests that have reduced cheating, nothing has proved to be a foolproof solution.

Earlier this month, players were caught producing fake birth certificates that did not match with their documents like school leaving certificates and mark sheets. Twenty-six players in all came under the scanner, but on verification, the MCA deemed 10 players eligible. After discussing the menace at the Annual General Body meeting on Wednesday, the MCA has decided to initiate criminal proceedings against the defaulters by taking legal action and lodging a police complaint.

Mumbai has dominated domestic cricket by winning the Ranji Trophy 41 times, and gave India prominent players like Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar etc. However, the erstwhile hub of Indian cricket has not been able to produce talent like in the past. Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane are regulars in the Indian team from Mumbai, and after them pacers Dhawal Kulkarni and Shardul Thakur have knocked on the Indian team doors thus far. One of the reasons for the dearth of talent in the city is attributed to age fudging.

The junior cricket setup in India came in praise from former India skipper and Mumbai stalwart Gavaskar and the association has taken upon itself to stop the menace and protect the heritage. “Mumbai has always given direction to Indian cricket. In the organisation in junior cricket or school level, India is the best in the world; it is taking a leaf out of Mumbai cricket. We have an excellent setup through which many cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar have come up. It has been emulated later by other states. All in all, Indian cricket has benefitted enormously from Mumbai cricket,” said Gavaskar during the felicitation function for former MCA, BCCI and ICC chief Sharad Pawar. “Club or office cricket is also one of the strengths of Mumbai cricket and when Mumbai cricket is strong, Indian cricket is strong,” he added in agreement to former Indian and Mumbai cricketer Vijay Merchant’s observation in the past.

Sharad Pawar being felecited by former India captains Daina Edulji, Dilip Vengsarkar, Ajit Wadekar and Sunil Gavaskar at Wankhade Stadium in Mumbai. (Photo: PTI)

Pawar, who was honoured for getting Padma Vibhushan award, was concerned with the Supreme Court-approved Lodha Committee recommendations especially the ‘one-state, one vote’ point. Maharashtra has three cricket associations in Mumbai, Pune and Vidarbha, and all had voting rights until now. MCA is yet o implement it in totality. “Mumbai cricket has a rich heritage with 30,000 cricketers and 350 clubs registered. I could not sleep when Lodha Committee recommended ‘one-state, one vote’. MCA is the founding member of BCCI,” he said. He, however, expressed delight at what Mumbai cricketers have done and the popularity of IPL, which started when he was the BCCI chief in 2008. “I was delighted to see Dilip Vengsarkar's photo at Lords. I saw IPL matches being screened everywhere when I was in London, which shows the popularity of the league,” he said.

Pawar said India winning the World Cup was the biggest memory of his cricket administrative career. “Holding the final at Wankhede and winning it (in 2011) was the best moment of cricket administration. I was the ICC president then,” he recalled.

Both Pawar and Vengsarkar had to leave their posts in MCA as per Lodha Committee recommendations. Pawar exceeded the age cap of 70 while Vengsarkar had exceeded serving nine years in the MCA management.

Former India skipper Vengsarkar, who is the only visiting batsman to score three hundreds at Lord’s, said, “Playing for Mumbai was a big honour and scoring a hundred at Wankhede was equally pleasing as at Lord’s,” he said. Former India and Mumbai cricketers Ajit Wadekar and Madhav Apte also shared their experiences along with former women's cricketer Diana Edulji who is currently the member of Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (COA) in BCCI.