June 17, 2025 - There have been many cases of age fraud in Indian cricket. The Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) has always taken such cases seriously and has now made a new rule to stop them. This new rule can significantly help prevent age fraud at the junior level.

The BCCI has implemented this rule for young cricketers to prevent them from missing a season owint to the "+1 factor". This rule is related to age verification, where players sometimes get disqualified by a very small margin.

A BCCI official told news agency PTI, "This rule is made to find out the correct age of a player. We also want to make sure that no player suffers due to scientific calculation being replaced by simple arithmetic."

Current Rule and New Rule

Under the current rule, the age of a cricketer is checked using the TW3 bone test method. After that, 1 year is added to their age (+1 factor) to decide if the player can play in the same age group in the next season.

According to the new rule, boys in the Under-16 category will now have to take a second bone test in the next season. If the +1 factor pushes their age beyond the allowed limit, they will not be eligible to play.

Age Limit for Boys and Girls

For Under-16 boys, the maximum allowed bone age is 16.5 years.

For Under-15 girls, the maximum allowed bone age is 15 years.

Example for Boys

If a boy’s bone age is 15.4 years, he will not need a second test next year. His age after applying the +1 rule becomes 16.4, which is within the limit.

But if his bone age is 15.5 years, then after adding one year, it becomes 16.5, which crosses the allowed limit of 16.4. So, he will be disqualified for the next season.

Example for Girls

If a girl’s bone age is 13.9 years in the current season, she will be eligible to play in the next season.

But if her age is 14 years or more, she can play in the current season only. She will be ineligible for the next season.