Bangladesh Test: Potential security threat keeps Kanpur on alert

The build-up to the second India-Bangladesh Test, scheduled to begin in Kanpur on Friday, has been overshadowed by reports of a Hindu right-wing group allegedly planning to cause trouble during the match.

Local police says an FIR has been filed against 20 members of the Akhil Bhartiya Hindu Mahasabha on Monday for allegedly organising a havan by obstructing the road in front of the stadium to protest ‘atrocities’ on Hindus in Bangladesh.

Harish Chander, Kanpur’s additional commissioner of police (law and order), told PTI that adequate police units, including senior officials, are expected to be deployed for the match. “We are reviewing the security arrangements to leave no stone unturned and (are) confident of getting an adequate police force to meet the requirements,” he added.

The officer said they were coordinating with Central and state agencies, including the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the state Intelligence to share inputs regarding threats, if any, to deal with it swiftly.

Shadows of the shifting political scenario in Bangladesh, where Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was overthrown in July, have been threatening the series. There were talks earlier this month about the Test being shifted to Indore in view of the persistent threats, while the Hindu Mahasabha has called for a bandh on 6 October in Gwalior, where the first T20I of a three-match series is scheduled.

“We will not allow the match to take place here. It has been decided in our meeting that when the Bangladesh team comes to Gwalior, we will protest,” Hindu Mahasabha vice-president Jaiveer Bharadwaj was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, a major area of concern for the tourists — who suffered a resounding 280-run defeat in the first Test in Chennai — is the availability of veteran allrounder Shakib Al Hasan. The 37-year-old former captain was hit by a Jasprit Bumrah snorter in the first Test where he was under bowled, but coach Chandika Hathurusinghe declared he was available for selection.

‘’At the moment, I haven’t heard from my physio or from anyone. He is still eligible for selection,’’ Hathurusinghe told the media after the team’s first training session in Kanpur. The coach praised Shakib for putting up a fight against the quality Indian attack in the second innings, in which he scored 25 off 56 balls. In the first innings, he was the topscorer for the visitors, chipping in with 32 off and 64 balls.

Slow turner

As for the actual match, it will be a different kind of battle in the middle, with the Green Park square comprising black soil known to play low and slow in a departure from the bounce and carry of Chennai. This may prompt the hosts to drop pacer Akash Deep and bring in hometown boy Kuldeep Yadav in the playing XI. 

The last time India played a Test here against the Kiwis in 2021, they fielded spinners Ravi Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel. In case Bangladesh are not in a position to make use of Shakib’s economic left-arm spin, they might add left-armer Taijul Islam or off-spinner Nayeem Hasan to the playing XI.