Age problem comes back to haunt GCA

AHMEDABAD: It was a matter of a few hours of Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) declaring the list of probables for Ranji Trophy, Under-25 Col C K Nayudu Trophy and Under-19 Vinoo Mankad Trophy, that it had to beat a retreat due to a perennial problem that mars the age group teams.
With an aim to catch the age cheats, BCCI had appointed a private hospital to conduct a series of tests to catch the cheaters.
In the latest case, of the list of 25 probables declared by the GCA for the under-19 Vinoo Mankad Trophy at least seven were found to be "overage after the tests". However, GCA secretary Rajesh Patel, brushed aside the issue. "I just got the mail regarding the over-aged players. We will have to select a new team now," he said. When asked whether they had verified the players' age before declaring the names, he said, "We have their birth certificate and we found no wrong. But these tests showed something else."
Despite admitting that there are different types of tests to be done, Patel expressed helplessness when asked whether they will take up the matter with BCCI. "These are their rules and we can't do anything here. We have to abide by the rules. I have already drawn a list of replacement which we will declare in a day or two," he added.
Incidentally, it is not the first time that GCA was caught in the age-old problem. Last year, three players of under-16 team faced the similar problems after being disqualified. Their parents, then, alleged that of the three tests prescribed by BCCI, only one was conducted by GCA.