Board employs latest technology to determine players’ age

KARACHI: To provide a level-playing field to all teenage cricketers, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) conducted age verification tests on as many as 2,976 players by employing the latest scientific techniques ahead of the City Cricket Association Under-19 Cricket Tournament slated to begin on May 21, the PCB said on Wednesday.

"Top radiologists in the country were consulted and scientifically validated methods were used to radiologically estimate ages. In these tests – on which Rs10 million was spent – x-rays were conducted on multiple body joints to increase accuracy.

These were then reviewed by leading radiologists. This was different from previous practice where only wrist x-ray were assessed," the Board said.

It was observed in the previous seasons that players under-reported their age to gain unfair advantage in the age-group competitions, which not only hurt the spirit of the game but also put deserving teenage cricketers at a position of disadvantage, hampering their growth, it added.

This initiative is part of the PCB’s efforts to encourage teenage cricketers to declare correct biological age when participating in the age-group tournaments.

This follows an extensive activity that the PCB undertook in January to determine correct age of the participants of the under-13 and under-16 tournaments, the Board said.

The participation of overage players in age-group cricket has proved to be detrimental in the growth of cricketers, PCB Director High Performance Nadeem Khan said. "We have borne a significant cost for this extensive exercise.”

The PCB has also introduced lower age limit for the first time to discourage players from reducing their ages on the official documents.

Only the players born on or after September 1, 2003, and before September 1, 2007, are eligible for the under-19 tournament, which will run from May 21 to June 4.