Anuj Rawat could face sanctions, including a ban, for participating in the T20 tournament.
When ThePrint revealed that several cricketers from around the globe, including as many as 58 Indians, had taken part in the Mauritius Twenty20 Cricket League in June last year, it wasn’t entirely clear if this tournament involved primarily washed up, former cricketers who had nothing to lose, but new information has come to light since.
Anuj Rawat, who recently captained India’s under-19 team in four-day matches against Sri Lanka, is under the scanner for playing in the league that the International Cricket Council declared “Disapproved Cricket” in 2017.
Rawat could face sanctions, including a ban.
It would have been easy enough for Rawat to travel to Mauritius to play in tournament as Indian nationals do not require a visa to the country if they plan to stay for less than 60 days.
Also read: An unsanctioned T20 league that went unnoticed. Now, 58 players from India face bans
The ICC recognises 22 countries in the African region but Mauritius is not one of them. To that end, the tournament cannot get approval from the apex body and therefore players have to know they are taking part in Disapproved Cricket.
The Press Trust of India reported: “Anuj, who is currently playing a one-day series against Sri Lanka colts, appeared to have not procured any NOC from the BCCI to play in the unsanctioned tournament.”
The report added, “A youtube video of the tournament has emerged and Anuj is seen playing in a match between teams named Flac Royals and Quatre Borne. Anuj’s opposing team comprised former Pakistan cricketer Hasan Raza and ex-England international Owais Shah, who had featured in the sting operation conducted by the Al Jazeera network.”
Acting BCCI secretary Amitabh Chaudhary told PTI: “The age group players are educated by BCCI at the national level. This is very unfortunate if junior players have gone ahead and played unsanctioned tournament. This needs to be looked into seriously.”
The agency also quotes Saba Karim, general manager, Cricket Operations, as saying: “For any tournament outside India, the players need to seek NOC from BCCI. I am not aware whether Anuj sought permission or not. You could check with DDCA.”
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