Ludhiana U-19 team barred from c’ship for playing with overaged member

The Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) has also banned the overaged player, Viraj Singh alias Gurpreet Singh, 20, for two years. The Ludhiana team had reached the knockout (semi-final) stage of the tournament before getting debarred.

Caught playing with an overaged player during the ongoing inter-district championship, the under-19 team of Ludhiana district cricket association (LDCA) has been barred from the tournament and the LDCA has been told to pay a fine of ₹20,000.

LDCA officials that the trickery has been committed by the player by submitting the forged documents, along with a notary attested affidavit, and the association is not at fault. (Representational image) (HT FILE)

The Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) has also banned the overaged player, Viraj Singh alias Gurpreet Singh, 20, for two years. The Ludhiana team had reached the knockout (semi-final) stage of the tournament before getting debarred. As per information, the PCA had conducted an inquiry into a complaint submitted by the Moga team regarding the overaged player, following which action was taken against the Ludhiana team. The Moga team had lost to Ludhiana during the tournament.

An office-bearer of the association, requesting anonymity, said senior officials of the associations were aware that Viraj was overaged but still allowed him to play in the team. Now, parents of other players are objecting to the ban on the entire team, stating that they are bearing the brunt of the actions of one player and a few members of the association. Missing this tournament will have an impact on the careers of other aspiring players.

Meanwhile, LDCA officials that the trickery has been committed by the player by submitting the forged documents, along with a notary attested affidavit, and the association is not at fault. LDCA president Satish Mangal and honorary secretary Gagandeep Bhalla said all players were asked to submit the documents prescribed by the PCA, including Aadhar card, certificates etc, and the player Viraj also submitted the same documents.

Bhalla said, “The player even submitted a notary attested affidavit and the LDCA allowed the player on that basis only. It is possible to check the age of players till 16 through medical check-up but in case of the U-19 team, we have to depend on documents only. The documents were also checked by four PCA referees during the tournament but no anomalies were found at that time too. The association is not at fault and no trickery was done intentionally by the officials.”

Mangal said, “The player forged the documents and we will file a plea with the PCA that the rest of the team should not be barred from the tournament.”

PCA chief executive officer (CEO) Deepak Sharma said, “Action has been taken against the LDCA, the overaged player and U-19 team as per the norms of the PCA.”