BCCI bans spinner Rohit Yadav for two years over age discrepancy, to be removed from India U19 squad

Bengal leg-spinner Rohit Yadav has been handed a two-year ban by BCCI after age discrepancies surfaced in his official records, with the suspension taking immediate effect from September 4, 2026.

Rohit Yadav has consequently been dropped from India's U19 setup ahead of the home series against Australia Under-19, which gets underway on September 18, 2026. It was the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) that first identified the irregularities and brought them to the attention of the national board, which then acted swiftly to impose the ban.

The series against Australia U19 spans multiple formats. Three Youth ODIs are lined up for September 18, 21, and 23 in Rajkot, followed by two Youth Tests. The first Youth Test is scheduled from September 27 to 30 in Rajkot, and the second from October 5 to 8 in Ahmedabad.

What age discrepancies were found in Rohit Yadav's records?

When Rohit Yadav first enrolled with the Cricket Association of Bengal in 2014, his date of birth was recorded as July 7, 2007. What followed over the next several years raised serious red flags. A 2017 update to his Aadhaar card shifted his birth year to 2006, and a further revision in 2021 moved it again, this time placing it in 2009. Three different birth years across official documents formed the core of the discrepancy.

Alongside the changes to his birth year, his registered address was also altered, moving from Uttar Pradesh to Liluah, a locality in Howrah district, West Bengal. The CAB flagged the cumulative pattern of alterations to BCCI, which concluded that the irregularities warranted a two-year suspension with immediate effect.

How does Rohit Yadav's absence affect India U19's spin options for the Australia series?

Rohit Yadav had established himself as a reliable wicket-taker at youth level before this ban. In a Youth Test against Sri Lanka Under-19, he claimed six wickets and played a direct role in India securing a 211-run victory. That kind of match-winning contribution from a leg-spinner will be difficult to replace at short notice.

His absence is likely to be felt most acutely across the two Youth Tests, where spin tends to play a more prominent role than in the shorter formats. BCCI is expected to name a replacement, but no player had been confirmed for that spot at the time of writing.

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India U19 revised squad for the home series against Australia U19

The full revised India U19 squad for the series against Australia U19 had not been confirmed by BCCI as yet. The board is expected to announce the updated squad ahead of the September 18 opener in Rajkot.