The International Cricket Council(ICC) announced the minimum age requirement to play international cricket. ICC rules state that no player below 15 will be allowed to feature in any form of men’s, women’s, or Under-19 international cricket.
ICC Rule on minimum age restrictions
The board introduced the minimum age policy for players to play globally through an official release.
“The Board confirmed the introduction of minimum age restrictions for international cricket to improve safeguarding of players which will apply across all cricket including ICC events, bilateral cricket, and U19 cricket.
To play in any form of men’s, women’s or U19 international cricket players must now be a minimum age of 15,” the ICC said in a statement.
“In case of exceptional circumstances, a Member Board could apply to the ICC to allow a player under the age of 15 to play for them.
This could include where the player’s playing experience and mental development and wellbeing demonstrates that they would be capable of coping with the demands of international cricket.”
Prior to the latest new minimum age policy by ICC, there was no such bar on the age of a cricketer playing any form of international cricket.
The player who played International cricket under 14 years of age
The youngest cricketer, who played his first international test match at the age of 14 years is Hasan Raza from Pakistan.
The right-handed batsman had played seven tests and 16 ODIs between the years 1996 to 2005.
Youngest cricketer to play international cricket from India
In the case of India, it is the legendary cricketer, Sachin Tendulkar, who is the youngest Indian to play international cricket for the country. He made his Test debut at the age of 16.
Widely known as the Master Blaster, Tendulkar has scored 18,426 runs in ODI and 15,921 runs in Tests. Sachin Tendulkar announced his retirement on 16th November 2013.
