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Karan Viradiya guilty of altering age for U-19 selection

Karan Viradiya, the Gujarat batsman, has been removed from India's U-19 squad because his passport and school leaving certificate showed different dates of birth

ESPNcricinfo staff
19-Jul-2013
Karan Viradiya, the Gujarat batsman, has been removed from India's Under-19 squad because his passport and school leaving certificate showed different dates of birth.
According to his school-leaving certificate, Viradiya's date of birth was October 17, 1994. But when corroborated against his passport, it was found that his actual date of birth was April 17, 1994, which would make him ineligible for selection to India's U-19 squad. Viradiya had been named in the 15-member squad to tour Sri Lanka for two four-day matches, which begin on July 23.
He will be replaced by Andhra batsman Ricky Bhui, who had been named in the limited-overs squad and will now play in the earlier part of the tour also.
"We went through the documents thoroughly," Rajesh Patel, Gujarat Cricket Association secretary, told DNA. "However, the player had not submitted his passport, and we forwarded his name to the BCCI, purely on the basis of his school certificate.
"The BCCI has been very strict (with age-related fraud) after the Ankit Bawne incident," Patel said. "It's very embarrassing. Now we will have to ask players to submit their passports too."
Bawne, the Maharashtra batsman, was replaced as captain of India's U-19 squad in 2011 after a discrepancy in his date of birth was uncovered.
Viradiya had been selected in the squad after enjoying a successful U-19 Col CK Nayudu Trophy last season, in which he aggregated over 400 runs.