Najmul Shanto's Bangladesh Cancel Visit To Mosque In Gwalior Amid Security Threat
Najmul Shanto's Bangladesh- (Source: @BCB/X.com)
India will face Bangladesh for the first T20I of the three-match series starting on October 6 at the Gwalior International Stadium. Both teams have arrived in the city and are sweating hard in the nets. India are looking to replicate their red-ball performance in the shortest format while The Tigers are eyeing to avenge their embarrassment.
Security threat also looms over the opening T20I match as Hindu Mahasabha had called for Gwalior Bandh on October 6 and demanded the match to be called off because of the killings of Hindus in violence-hit Bangladesh following Sheikh Hasina's ouster from the country.
Bangladeshi Cricketers Cancel Visit To Mosque Amid Threats
In the latest events, Bangladeshi players and support staff were supposed to visit the city’s Moti Masjid but cancelled their plans amid the threats from Hindu Mahasabha. Rather, the Najmul Shanto-led offered namaz in the hotel after a ‘Shahar Qazi’ (the city’s top Muslim cleric) was called to the hotel.
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Meanwhile, the Gwalior zone inspector cleared that the security arrangements were in place for the team to visit the mosque that was just 3 km away from the team hotel and the decision to skip the mosque visit might have been taken at the team's management level.
“We had made elaborate security arrangements around Moti Masjid but the Bangladesh team did not turn up. No organisation had given any call to disrupt their visit,” Gwalior Zone Inspector General Arvind Saxena told PTI over the phone.
Gwalior Authority Assures Top Security For Players
The Gwalior authorities have placed tight security at the Radisson Hotel in Gwalior’s City Center. More than 200 security personnel are placed around the hotel, with barriers and checkpoints in place. A total of 4,000 police personnel will be deployed on match day to ensure the safety of both teams.
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