In a shocker of a news, Australian spinner Ashton Agar's wife has received a death threat on social media as being investigated by Cricket Australia (CA), Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and government security agencies.
It was revealed that a message was sent to Agar's wife, Madeleine, on social media possibly from India. CA has confirmed in a statement that a social media post was sent. The governing body says the threat is “not a risk”.
“Cricket Australia is aware of a social media post, of which the nature and content has been investigated by the PCB, CA and combined government security agencies,” the statement reads.
“There are extensive security plans in place for this type of social media activity, which, in this case, is not considered a risk. No further comment will be made at this time.”
It is worth noting that, Pakistan are set to host Australia in a historic all-format tour, which is slated to start from March 4. The series will include three Tests, as many ODIs and a T20I match and Agar has been placed in all squads.
Notably, this visit marks Australia’s first assignment on Pakistan soil since 1998. Hence, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) would want all matches to be conducted smoothly. However, it has been reported that Agar’s partner has been subjected to threat on social media. The matter has been reported to PCB and Cricket Australia and an investigation was subsequently conducted. Pakistan has hosted only six Test matches since 2009 due to security reasons.
However, as per The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, a team spokesperson has confirmed that Agar was the subject of the death threat. However, the team security has found out that the threat is not credible and has been sent from a fake Instagram account, potentially from India. Meanwhile, Agar was in “good spirits” despite the direct message sent to his wife.
Australia will have their first training session on Tuesday (March 1) before Friday’s first Test at Rawalpindi.
Australia's Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, and David Warner.
Australia's ODI and T20 squad: Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa
Australia's tour of Pakistan:
March 4-8: First Test, Rawalpindi
March 12-16: Second Test, Karachi
March 21-25: Third Test, Lahore
March 29: First ODI, Rawalpindi
March 31: Second ODI, Rawalpindi
April 2: Third ODI, Rawalpindi
April 5: Only T20I, Rawalpindi
