BCCI Planning To Use New Age Detection Software, Likely To Cut Costs By 80 Percent: Report

Adopting a zero-tolerance policy toward age fraud, BCCI currently uses the 'TW3' method (based on X-rays of the left hand and wrist) for age determination.

New Delhi: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will use a software on trial basis in conjunction with the existing 'TW3' method for age fraud detection on an experimental basis, with the aim of achieving instant results and cost savings of up to 80 percent. Adopting a zero-tolerance policy toward age fraud, BCCI currently uses the 'TW3' method (based on X-rays of the left hand and wrist) for age determination.

Presently, it takes three to four days to get results for age detection and the cost of each test is Rs 2400. Reportedly, the proposed use of 'BoneXpert software' will give quick results and the cost will be only Rs 288.

According to news agency PTI, a BCCI note read: "The X-rays are taken at the respective home centres of state associations at the X-ray centre in the presence of independent BCCI observer and sent to the BCCI AVP Department."

"BCCI AVP department collates them in a proper format and send it to two (2) independent radiologists on the BCCI panel for interpretation of bone age. Reporting also takes time since we have about 4 radiologists doing ratings of 38 associations and every radiologist does interpretation of about 8-9 associations. It can take any time between one day to three - four days to get the reporting of associations from the consultants depending upon the workload on them and number of players. Entire process takes around two (2) months to be completed," stated the report.

BCCI will be working with the state associations on the experiment.

"Though we are satisfied by the trial data run on the limited number of X-rays in our databank, still we want to run a trial with large number of X-rays (approximately 3800) across all associations to be fully satisfied with the working of the software. Hence, we are proposing to use this software on a trial basis along with our traditional method of manual interpretation of x-rays by the radiologists," reported PTI citing the note.

There have been several cases of fraud in the age group tournaments that come under the BCCI. In June 2019, Jammu and Kashmir oacer Rasikh Alam was banned for two years after being found guilty of submitting a false birth certificate. BCCI had launched a voluntary scheme in August 2022 for registered players to provide their correct age. There is a provision in BCCI to ban cricketers for two years if found guilty of committing age fraud.