BCCI cancels registration of 8 Puducherry players

File image (Reuters)

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday canceled the registration of eight domestic players from Puducherry for not following the eligibility criteria. 

The eight senior team players have flouted the eligibility criteria to take part in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy which started on Wednesday. 

The players were found using fake birth certificates, address proof and employment certificate to play for Puducherry. 

BCCI acted after receiving complaints against senior players. ST Xavier, Nikhilesh Surendran, Iqlas N, Abdul Safar VS, Yash Jadhav, Sagar Trivedi, Ashith Rajiv and Shashank Singh were found flouting the eligibility criteria, PTI confirmed. 

As per the letter written by GM (Cricket Operations) Saba Karim, all the eight players were found to have submitted either their employer certificate or proof of education which is not even a month old.

In fact one player Ashith's Aadhar Card as proof of residence was issued only on August 27, 2018.

Karim clearly stated that as per rules all those studying or residing in Puducherry from August 2018 won't be considered eligible to play for the state.

However, with the Vijay Hazare Trophy having started on Wednesday, the BCCI will allow Puducherry to select eight replacement players for the current season. 

(With Reuters Inputs)