Mumbai Indians' Rasikh Salam Accused Of Age-Fudging

A couple of months after becoming an overnight sensation after making his Indian Premier League debut as a 17-year old Rasikh Salam is in the news for all the wrong reasons.  The youngster turned heads with the way he bowled on his IPL debut although he went for runs. Mumbai Indians did not include him in the playing eleven thereafter as they went on to recover from a shaky start to win the title.

Salam, nonetheless, has found himself in mid of age-fraud storm. Jammu and Kashmir State Board of Education has informed the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) that the cricketer has fudged his age. The Times of India has reported that IANS has accessed some documents which can land Salam in hot waters.

Also Read: Kapil Dev Calls For a Farewall Game of Yuvraj Singh

The documents show that the board has made it clear to the JKCA that the age Salam has provided to the cricket association doesn’t match that of the board’s record (as registered during his Class 10 examination. JKCA now wants the BCCI to check the same before taking the next step. Last week, Salam was named in the India U-19 team for the one-day Tri-series in England. The other team in the tri-series is Bangladesh.

Also Read: Sanjay Bangar Gives Injury Update On Shikhar Dhawan

However, the turn of events have messed up things for Salam. A JKCA member has expressed his disappointment over the incident, saying that it was really sad that such a thing was happening in the presence of administrators in the association.

“We have two administrators now and if such an episode happens despite their presence, it is indeed sad. They should be keeping a tab to ensure that players don’t fudge their age as it is a sin and also deprives other youngsters of the opportunity to shine,” he said.

Salam, nonetheless, could land in huge trouble if he is found guilty of age-fudging. During their meeting in May last year, the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) made it crystal clear that any player fudging age could be banned for two seasons and criminal action may also be initiated.

“Players who are found (after a proper enquiry) to have submitted false/tampered birth certificates will be banned from all BCCI tournaments for two seasons. BCCI may also initiate criminal action against the concerned player and/or any other person responsible for submitting false/tampered birth certificates,” the minutes of the May 18 meeting read.