The HCA website mentioned the incident. In its press releases, notifications and announcements section, it said the U-19 team announced on September 24 had to be changed due to the age verification of some of the selected players. “The Chairman and members of the Junior Selection Committee met today (30-09-2024) to select replacements for certain players who have been withheld due to ongoing enquiry of age verification,” read the press release.
According to the website, captain Chirag Yadav, Anudeep Javaji, Divesh Bajaj and Gone Prem were replaced from the squad of 15 while Aditya Javaji and Sai Chandra were replaced in the standbys. Anvit Reddy led the team in the tournament whose league phase was held from October 4 to 12 while the knockout rounds were played from October 17 to 26. Hyderabad were placed in Group F. They lost the quarterfinal against Chhattisgarh.
“It was a big setback for the HCA. Most of these players were the core of the team. The numbers may increase as the HCA has decided to conduct an enquiry if it receives more complaints,” added the source.
Another source in the know of developments said the HCA officials on the pretext of confirming domicile asked a few players under radar about details of their Aadhaar Cards.
“They were asked to share OTPs they received but the players were reluctant which brought them under the scanner. Anyway, once the police started the investigation, everything unfolded gradually. These players allegedly had multiple birth certificates,” the source said.
Before selecting the final squad, the HCA picked up 78 probables and divided them into six teams with each team consisting of 13 players. They played matches against each other between September 16 and 21 before the 15-member squad was selected. Yadav captained the D team in those selection matches as well.
