The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has confirmed that it received a mail threatening terror attack on the Men in Blue, which was originally sent to the Pakistan Cricket Board. PCB received the anonymous mail last week saying the Indian cricket players, currently in West Indies, are under threat of an imminent terror attack.
BCCI CEO Rahul Johri confirmed to TOI about the authenticity of the news and stated that it had threatened to kill the Indian cricketers. He mentioned said the home ministry was briefed and that the embassy in Antigua has also been informed. The Mumbai police has also been made aware of the information and security of the Indian squad has been beefed up.
"We have briefed the home ministry and shared the email. The embassy in Antigua has also been contacted and briefed. The Mumbai police has also been informed and the security of the Indian team in the West Indies has been beefed up," Johri told TOI.
It all started when an anonymous email came to the inbox of PCB's official account on August 16 PCB forwarded the mail to the International Cricket Council (ICC). BCCI received the mail in due process which did not have any information of any terror group.
The ICC did not make any comments on the issue. A senior official of the PCB told TOI that he does not want to comment on safety and security issues. However, people who have read the email have informed TOI that it was fake as it mentions some random names. They further mentioned that it was a hoax and the Indian cricketers are probably under no threat.
The Men in Blue are in West Indies for the upcoming two-match Test series against the Carribean nation. The first Test starts on August 22 in Antigua. Team India defeated the Windies 2-0 in the recently concluded three-match ODI series with brilliant performances from skipper Virat Kohli who scored two centuries. They also won the T20 series at the start of the tour 3-0 in a convincing manner.
The forthcoming Test series will be part of the ICC World Test Championship.
