The Mumbai School Sports Association (MSSA) on Tuesday suspended Rizvi Springfield (Bandra) coach Raju Pathak for fielding over-aged player Satyalaksh Jain in the MSSA Harris Shield Elite Division cricket tournament this season.
Pathak has been suspended pending an enquiry. The MSSA also banned the concerned player, Jain, as well as the school from participating in the tournament until further enquiry.
The news came as a shock to Pathak who when contacted was not aware of the suspension. "I had no idea about the suspension as I had left the meeting long before the MSSA could take a decision. You are the one breaking the news to me," said the coach of the Bandra side who have won the Harris Shield for six consecutive years.
"I have always maintained that I have absolutely no idea about the boy's birth certificate from his previous school. How can a coach be responsible for this? One needs to check the grounds that I was banned on," added Pathak, who will also be banned from coaching in the Giles Shield, in which Rizvi begin their campaign against SPSP Suvidyalaya (Borivli) at Cross Maidan on Wednesday.
"For us, all three parties are in the wrong. All that remains to be decided is the tenure of their ban. As far as the postponement of the dates is concerned, what other choice do we have? We hoped to finish the tournament by January 16 but it seems that we will need more time to reach a conclusion," said MSSA cricket secretary, HS Bhor.
The MSSA's decision has resulted in the semifinal between Rizvi and Don Bosco (Matunga) being left in a limbo. The Elite division final was scheduled from January 13-16 at Brabourne Stadium. But the dates for these two matches could not be fixed as the issue is yet to be sorted out.
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