The Bangladesh team did not visit the city’s Moti Masjid on Friday before their T20 clash with India in Gwalior. Instead, they offered prayers at their hotel, a police official said.
“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.
Security measures have been heightened in the city in response to a call for a ‘Gwalior bandh’ on match day, initiated by right-wing groups. These organisations are protesting what they describe as atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh, which they claim have escalated since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in August.
“The decision to skip the mosque visit might have been taken at the team's management level,” he said.
An official confirmed that the ‘Shahar Qazi,’ the city's top Muslim cleric, arrived at the hotel to lead the Bangladeshi cricketers in their ‘Namaz-e-Juma’ (Friday prayer) between 1 PM and 2:30 PM.
The official also noted that extensive security measures were put in place outside the mosque, where several media personnel were gathered.
The hotel is located approximately 23 kilometers from the Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium, where the Bangladesh team has been practicing since October 3. Despite the heightened security, the players are moving around freely according to their schedule.
“Providing security to the visiting team over just 3 km was never an issue from our side,” the official said.
More than 2,500 police officers have been deployed for the India-Bangladesh T20I match in Gwalior on Sunday. Police will be present on the streets from 2 pm on Sunday and will remain on duty until all spectators have returned home after the match. Following the imposition of prohibitory orders two days ago, police are also monitoring social media for inflammatory content.
Bangladesh will look to bounce back in the T20I series against India after their whitewash in Tests. Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto made it very clear that Bangladesh will play an aggressive brand of cricket in the slam bang contest against Suryakumar Yadav's men.
"We are looking to win this series, to be very honest. We want to play aggressive cricket. If you look at our last World Cup, we had a very good opportunity to play in the semi-finals but we couldn't do that. But, it's a new team. So, I hope all the players will play some good cricket here," Shanto told reporters.
India T20I Squad vs Bangladesh:
Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Riyan Parag, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Mayank Yadav.
Bangladesh T20I squad vs India:
Najmul Hossain Shanto (captain), Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Parvez Hossain Emon, Tawhid Hridoy, Mahmud Ullah, Litton Kumer Das, Jaker Ali Anik, Mehidy Hassan Miraz, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Rakibul Hasan.
