An age-old problem

Surely this eleventh hour selection reflects poorly on the attitude of the Board. They could so easily have prepared for this important tournament in advance, particularly as the dates and venue were fixed long ago.

But that was not to be. Instead, coach Roger Binny, along with the junior selectors, will watch the performance of the probables at nets and possibly in a couple of trial matches before finalising the team.

This apart, some attention must be paid to the age of the probables. A few years ago, India under-15 and Pakistan under-15 played a junior World Cup final in England that made a mockery of the tournament. Both sides had a number of overage players.

Some players from that team are in the list of probables for the under-19 World Cup. Even if they claim they are not over 19 now, the onus is on the Board to check the bonafides of all the probables.

The age certificates apart, competent doctors should be used to certify the age of the players. Those the doctors deem to be over 19 must be dropped. For, the purpose of the under-19 World Cup is to identify and groom players who can step into the senior team in the future. That goal would be defeated if overage players are accommodated in the squad.

Cricketing powerhouses like Karnataka, Mumbai and Tamil Nadu who strictly adhere to age norms have just one player apiece in the list of probables. And this is incongruous with the cricketing merits of these teams.