Rasikh Salam Dar was banned by the BCCI [Source: AFP]Cricket players getting banned due to age fraud is nothing new, and one such incident occurred on Thursday when Rohit Yadav, an India U19 player, was banned by the BCCI with immediate effect. The cricketer, who represents Bengal, was suspended by the BCCI because of age fraud.Yadav will serve a two-year ban, and all state units have been informed of the development too, to bar him from representing other states.Interestingly, he is not the first Indian player to serve a suspension due to age fraud. Several instances have happened before, and in this article, we take a look at the Indian players who were banned for age fraud cases.1) Prince Ram Niwas YadavThe Delhi cricketer was banned in 2019 after the BCCI found out that the player had reduced his age by five years to play age-group cricket. The Delhi player registered himself for age-group cricket by submitting his fake birth certificate (December 21, 2001).The BCCI conducted an investigation and found that he passed his 10th in 2012 and was born in 1996. As a result, he faced the BCCI’s wrath.2) Ankit BawneAnkit Bawne was set to lead India in the 2012 Under-19 World Cup, but the BCCI found a discrepancy in his age. Right before the World Cup, he was named the India captain for a quadrangular series; however, he was banned at the last moment.In the BCCI records, the date of birth Bawne mentioned was September 1, 1992; however, his original birth date turned out to be December 17, 1992. He was eventually replaced by Unmukt Chand as the Under-19 captain.3) Rasikh SalamThe Jammu & Kashmir and RCB pacer, Rasikh Salam Dar, played just a solitary match in the IPL 2019 for the Mumbai Indians, and a month later, he was banned for two years in a case related to age fraud.The pacer eventually made his return after serving a ban, and since then, he has played competitive cricket not only in the domestic circuit but in the IPL as well.Also Read: Manjot Kalra Controversies: How India's U19 World Cup Hero Fell Off The CliffDocuments proved Rasikh is two years older than he claims to be. This became public after a BCCI investigation pointed to a mismatch between two "original birth certificates" obtained from different sources.4) Manjot KalraManjot Kalra became an overnight sensation when he struck a majestic century in the 2018 Under-19 final. He was set to be the next big thing in Indian cricket, but a year later, it was alleged that Kalra had provided a false birth certificate.An investigation by the Delhi police revealed that Kalra is a year older than furnished, which made him ineligible to participate in the Under-19 World Cup.He was banned for concealing his original age, and since then, he has only played a solitary competitive match, which was his first and final List-A game in 2021. Moreover, in recent months, the player has been involved in match-fixing scandals.5) Nitish RanaIn 2015, the BCCI banned 22 Delhi cricketers from taking part in age-group cricket, and one of them was Nitish Rana, who has also represented India. An FIR was lodged against Rana and the other players for disputed birth certificates. However, Rana was only barred from playing age-group cricket, and there was no problem with him playing the Ranji Trophy, as the ban was only applicable to age-group cricket.Also Read: Sri Lanka Captain Ruled Out Of T20I Series vs England; Replacement Picked
