 "Team India head coach at a training session ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy final against New Zealand in Dubai. PTI")
Team India head coach and former opener Gautam Gambhir had received a death threat on 22 April , the day a deadly terror attack took place in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam in which 26 individuals – most of them tourists – had been killed. Reports suggested the mails were from “ISIS Kashmir”.
Gambhir, who had succeded Rahul Dravid as India head coach in July last year, had received two threatening emails, one in the afternoon and the other in the evening, according to ANI. Both mails contained the same threat – “IKillU” – with the former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament approaching the Delhi Police to file a formal complaint.
Engineering student in Gujarat turns out to be the mastermind
The Delhi Police have since made a significant breakthrough in the case. According to ANI, the Central District Police have apprehended Jigneshsinh Parmar, a 21-year-old engineering student from Gujarat whose family members claim is mentally ill.
“In connection with the threat e-mail to cricketer Gautam Gambhir, the individual who sent the mail has been identified as 21 year old Jigneshsinh Parmar hailing from Gujarat. He has been caught by Central District Police team and interrogated in detail. He is an engineering student whose family has claimed he is suffering from mental health issues. Further investigation is in progress,” the Delhi Police was quoted by the news agency as saying.
Gambhir had recently condemned the terrorist attack at the scenic Baisaran Valley in Pahalgam on Tuesday, stating that “those responsible will pay”. Several other cricketers and athletes have spoken out against the incident, with former India captain Sourav Ganguly calling for the BCCI to completely boycott Pakistan.
Double Olympic medal-winning javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra had invited Paris 2024 gold medallist Arshad Nadeem among other top athletes to the Neeraj Chopra Classic Event that will be taking place in May. Chopra, however, has since clarified that invitations had gone out before the Pahalgam attack and Arshad’s presence at the event in Bengaluru is “completely out of the question”.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsGambhir is currently on a break with the 18th season of the Indian Premier League currently underway. After a turbulent few months in which India suffered Test defeats at home as well as away, Gambhir coached the Men in Blue to victory in the ICC Champions Trophy last month.
He will next be seen in action during the five-Test series in England that gets underway in June.