U-16 Player With "Full Grown Beard": Ex-India Opener's Funny Tale Highlights Age-Fudging In Cricket

Age fraud is a problem that has plagued cricket for many years and it is extremely prevalent even today when it comes to age-group cricket on the domestic circuit. In recent times, multiple cases have emerged which showed clear age fudging among players and former Indian cricket team opener Aakash Chopra took to social media to share an interesting anecdote from his young days. He was commenting about a recent case where a cricketer from Maharashtra was punished due to a similar offence.

“Minor adjustment, it seems I remember playing U-16 in a Delhi v Punjab game where one guy in the opposition had a full grown beard…and was a couple of years younger to me on paper (I was 15…he was 13) He said…hamare family mein beard thodi jaldi aa jati hai, (Facial hair grows very early in our family)," Chopra wrote on Twitter.

Minor adjustment, it seems I remember playing U-16 in a Delhi v Punjab game where one guy in the opposition had a full grown beard…and was a couple of years younger to me on paper (I was 15…he was 13) 🫶🤗 He said…hamare family mein beard thodi jaldi aa jati hai https://t.co/gpCGqr82oa

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) June 8, 2023

Earlier. Chopra shared some fascinating stories about Ambati Rayudu who retired from international cricket after winning the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 title with Chennai Super Kings.

"Let me share a little anecdote about my first meeting with Ambati Rayudu. It was in 2003, it was India A's tour to the West Indies. A small kid named Ambati Rayudu was picked there. He would have probably been 16 years old at that time," Chopra said in a video on his YouTube channel.

"He was selected with the hope that he will be the next Sachin Tendulkar, that the boy is extremely talented. He is like the prodigy, that he could bat, fields extremely well and could bowl too," he added.