Proteas fast bowler Wayne Parnell has reported an anonymous phone call that was allegedly of a threatening nature made to his hotel room in Dhaka on the day of the first Twenty20 international against Bangladesh.

According to the BCB’s security consultant Hossain Imam, Parnell was abused and threatened by an anonymous caller as he was getting ready to leave for the Shere Bangla stadium.

‘Soon after the incident, we informed the intelligence agencies,’ Imam told Bengali daily Kaler Kantho. ‘They have been trying to trace the caller and from where the call was made.’

South Africa’s team manager Mohammed Moosajee, however, said they had thought it was a prank call but was concerned that the hotel had allowed an anonymous caller to get through to Parnell. ‘Yes the call was put through to Wayne’s room on the day of the T20 but we thought it was probably a prank or a hoax call, we didn’t think too seriously of it.

‘Our main concern was the hotel putting anonymous callers through to the players’ rooms. Wayne followed the necessary security protocol by informing our security officer, who then took it up with the BCB officials. He (Wayne) didn’t feel threatened at all, he was more concerned about anonymous phone calls being put through to his room.’

Imam said the call was not made from a mobile phone, and that the hotel authorities should have asked for the player’s permission first before transferring the call to his room. ‘We had clearly told the hotel not to transfer phone calls directly to any player’s room. We told them to first take the player’s permission first. But in Parnell’s case, the hotel didn’t abide by our guideline.’ – AFP