Cricket
U-19 World Cup star Rajvardhan Hangargekar accused of age fraud
In a letter to the BCCI, Om Prakash Bakoria, commissioner of Sports and Youth Department, Maharashtra, has accused the pacer of age fudging.
India U-19 Fast bowler Rajvardhan Hangargekar (Source: TV9 Hindi)
Om Prakash Bakoria, the commissioner of the Sports and Youth Department, Maharashtra, has accused India's U-19 World Cup star bowler, Rajvardhan Hangargekar of age fudging. As per reports, in a letter to the BCCI, the IAS officer has also attached evidence against the cricketer.
According to a Marathi regional publication, Hangargekar's real age is 21 years. During his re-admission for eighth grade in Terna Public School, the cricketer allegedly changed his Date of Birth (DOB) from January 10 2001 to November 10, 2002. As a result, he qualified the age category for the recent ICC U-19 World Cup.
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In the letter, it is said that Bakoria has sent evidence in the form of Dharashiv CEO, Rahul Gupta's confirmation that Hangargekar had changed his DOB.
After a successful U-19 World Cup campaign, the fast bowler was bought by the top Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, Chennai Super Kings (CSK), for 1.5 crores at IPL 2022 mega auction. He had also caught the attention of veteran Indian bowler Ravichandra Ashwin, who claimed that Hangargekar would be the biggest attention at the auction.
Hangargekar has been representing Maharashtra since the U-16 squad for Vijay Merchant Trophy. The young pacer has been praised a lot for his ability to easily clock around 130 km/h.
With reports of age fudging and strong pieces of evidence against him, Hangargekar's chances of making an IPL debut and playing for four-time champions CSK are at stake.
