The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) disqualified seven teams, including Nepal, from the ACC Under-15 Elite Cup being held in the capital from November 25 for violating the age limit criteria. The teams were disqualified, following bone age tests that found players to be overage. While Kuwait had already been eliminated from the group stages, Nepal, Singapore, Hong Kong and Afganistan had already entered the semi- finals. With these teams having been declared disqualified and the tournament having passed the group stages, the already-eliminated Kuwait and Singapore have been considered eligible for the competition, thus taking much of the shine off the tournament. ACC has claimed that though the teams had been asked to provide appropriate medical data prior to the tournament, they did not comply.

It is indeed disgraceful for the teams to be expelled on the charge of violating the terms. The failure to comply with the terms has not only disqualified the teams, especially when the tournament was in its final stages, but has also tarnished their image in the field of international cricket. It is the responsibility of the participating teams to make sure that they fulfil the ACC’s mandatory instructions before filing their names for participation. In that light, the action that the ACC has taken appears valid. However, it is not justifiable for ACC to oust the teams in late stages of the tournament instead of judging early on whether they have met the eligibility criteria. In this light, ACC, too, has failed in its duty.