Rizvi cleared to play MSSA semis amid age controversy
By Rufus Vedanayagam
The Mumbai Schools Sports Association (MSSA) has declared that Rizvi Springfield High School (Bandra) will finally play the Harris Shield semi-final against Don Bosco (Matunga), 16 days after Swami Vivekanand School (Borivali) had protested against Rizvi for allegedly fielding overage players in the tournament.
Both Rizvi and Swami Vivekanand were under the scanner for apparently playing overaged players in the city’s premier school tournament. The Rizvi-Don Bosco semi-final clash was scheduled on January 27 before Swami Vivekanand made a written objection. Rizvi, too, reported that Swami Vivekanand had fielded eight players who had crossed the age limit.
Earlier, the Mumbai Cricket Association had banned two other Rizvi players (Anchal Mishra and Abhishek Yadav) for two years citing age offence.
MSSA cricket co-ordinator Deepak Talim said, “The date for the semi-final is not fixed, so I will speak to MCA on Tuesday and get a ground available to host the semi-final. By the next week we will complete the final as we are going to start the Giles Shield on Tuesday itself.”
The Mumbai Schools Sports Association (MSSA) has declared that Rizvi Springfield High School (Bandra) will finally play the Harris Shield semi-final against Don Bosco (Matunga), 16 days after Swami Vivekanand School (Borivali) had protested against Rizvi for allegedly fielding overage players in the tournament.
Both Rizvi and Swami Vivekanand were under the scanner for apparently playing overaged players in the city’s premier school tournament. The Rizvi-Don Bosco semi-final clash was scheduled on January 27 before Swami Vivekanand made a written objection. Rizvi, too, reported that Swami Vivekanand had fielded eight players who had crossed the age limit.
The MSSA had conducted a bone test on 10 players — two from Rizvi and eight from Swami Vivekanand — and subsequently debarred six of them. After the medical tests done at the JJ Hospital, the MSSA revealed that Swami Vivekanand’s Aman Sharma, Ruthvik Rathod, Prashant Pillai and Gautam Waghela, and Rizvi’s Vaibhav Kalmalkar and Sagar Chabria will not be eligible to play the tournament.
Earlier, the Mumbai Cricket Association had banned two other Rizvi players (Anchal Mishra and Abhishek Yadav) for two years citing age offence.
MSSA cricket co-ordinator Deepak Talim said, “The date for the semi-final is not fixed, so I will speak to MCA on Tuesday and get a ground available to host the semi-final. By the next week we will complete the final as we are going to start the Giles Shield on Tuesday itself.”
