South African spinner Imran Tahir faced security threats, asked to stay indoors
It is believed that the South African team management had advised Imran Tahir to not leave the team hotel at any point of time during his stay in Mumbai.
After Shiv Sena recently vandalised the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) headquarters in Mumbai, ahead of BCCI president Shashank Manohar's meeting with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Shahryar Khan, the South Africans left no stone unturned to take precautions against any untoward incident.
Although the South African team's media manager denied any sort of special guidelines concerning the safety of their Pakistan-born spinner Imran Tahir, it has been learnt that there was caution exercised when it came to the movements of Tahir.
"There were instructions from the team management that Tahir should not leave the team hotel at any point of time when in Mumbai. Since Tahir is born in Pakistan, the team management took extra security precaution. It was only to avoid any untoward incident," a source close to the South African team said to the Mid-Day.
The 36-year old was keen to take his wife Sumayya Dildar and 18-month-old baby boy Gibraan to various places in Mumbai. "Tahir was planning to take them shopping at some malls and also wanted to visit the iconic Haji Ali dargah. He wanted to explore all that he had heard and read about Mumbai. Unfortunately, he could not do it this time," the source said.
South Africa's media manager however, clarified that there were no special security measures in place for Tahir. "It is general security that we have for all other players in the team. There is nothing extraordinary for Imran Tahir," she said.
Tahir is one of the more popular players from the South African team. He got a loud cheer from the Indian fans at the Wankhede Stadium during the ODI last Sunday. The reception was even better at the Brabourne Stadium on Saturday when he came on to bowl during the two-day warm-up tie versus the Board President’s XI.
The BCCI had to eventually call off the meeting with PCB where they were to talk about the possibility of playing a bilateral series in December. The International Cricket Council (ICC) wasted no time in replacing Elite Umpire Aleem Dar from the fifth and final ODI at the Wankhede Stadium, after the radical party threatened the umpire.