Age fudging could prove a lot more costly now after the Supreme Court-appointed Committee ofAdministrators (CoA) decided to increase the quantum of punishment for players found guilty. Criminal action will be initiated too. The CoA were recently briefed about the rampant age fudging in BCCI age group tournaments, where players submit false/tampered birth certificates, as part of the age verification process.

As per the current rules, the BCCI can ban a player found guilty of age fraud for just one season. However, the CoA has decided on harsher punishment. "Players who are found [after a proper enquiry] to have submitted false/tampered birth certificates will be banned for two seasons," read one of the minutes of the CoA's May 18 meeting.