In what comes as a shocking piece of news ahead of the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, Chennai Super Kings and India U-19 star Rajvardhan Hangargekar has been accused of age fraud. The commissioner of the Sports and Youth Department, Maharashtra, Omprakash Bakoria has accused Hangargekar of age fudging.
As per reports, In a letter written to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Bakoria has alleged Hangargekar real age is 21 at present and that the youngster fudged his age to become eligible for the recently concluded ICC U-19 World Cup 2022.
As per a report in local Marathi publication Saamana, Hangargekar, who hails from a village in Osmanabad district of Maharashtra, was a student of the Terna Public School in the area. His birth date was changed from January 10, 2001 to November 10, 2002 during his readmission in the 8th grade in the school.
The change in his birth date made Hangargekar eligible to play for the India U-19 team in the U-19 World Cup 2022 which the country went on to win after beating England in the final. In his letter to the BCCI, Bakoria has reportedly stated that IAS officer Rahul Gupta has investigated the age fraud case and it was revealed that Hangargekar’s birth date was listed as January 10, 2001 in the school records before being changed to November 10, 2002 at the time of his admission in the 8th grade.
“Dharashiv CEO Rahul Gupta investigated Rajvardhan Hangargekar’s birth date. It was found that he was admitted to a public school in Dharashiv where his birthdate was listed as 10 January 2001. However, that was changed to 10th November 2002 before eighth grade,” Bakoria wrote in his letter to the BCCI, as per InsideSport.
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Rajvardhan Hangargekar’s IPL dream hangs in a balance:
Hangargekar, a pace all-rounder, who is known for his great speed and ability to strike the ball well, was picked up by Chennai Super Kings at the recently-concluded IPL 2022 mega auction. CSK bought him for a sum of Rs 1.5 crore (INR 15 million) at the mega auction.
However, the all-rounder can be banned from cricket and not allowed to take part in the upcoming IPL 2022 in case he is found guilty of age fudging. A BCCI official has confirmed that the board has received the letter from Maharashtra’s Commissioner of Sports and Youth Department, and will investigate the case.
“Yes, we have received a letter from the Maharashtra DYS. It is a serious allegation and we are looking into it. But at the moment he is free to play. We fully trust the system in place,” a BCCI official was quoted as saying by InsideSport.
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BCCI has a strict policy against age fudging and several cricketers have been banned in the past for age fraud. Earlier, Manjot Kalra, India U-19 batter, who struck a century in the final of the U-19 World Cup in 2018 was also accused of age fraud and was suspended for one year from Ranji Trophy after being found guilty.
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