Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is reportedly looking into the incident involving Ahmed Shehzad and Tillakaratne Dilshan after the recently concluded 3rd ODI, which Sri Lanka won. Television footage of the incident shows Ahmed Shehzad talking to Dilshan after the game and telling him "...if you are a non-Muslim and you turn Muslim, no matter whatever you do in your life... straight to heaven." Dilshan's (who maintains a smile during the conversation) reply is incoherent, but Shehzad goes on the add, "Then, be ready for fire."
PCB media manager, Agha Akbar, in a chat with Associated Press said, that there has been no complaint from the Sri Lanka Cricket Board.
"Ahmed has informed the PCB that it was his personal chat with Dilshan, and there was nothing more to it. What we understand is that no Sri Lanka Cricket official or our own manager lodged any complaint.''
Dilshan father is a Muslim while his mother is a Buddhist. Dilshan's birth name was Tuwan Mohamed Dilshan, but he shed his Muslim name shortly after his international debut in 1999 and took up the name Tillakaratne Mudiyanselage Dilshan with an ethnic Sinhalese-Buddhist identity.
His childhood coach Ranjan Paranavitana said even though Dilshan carried a Muslim name, he and his brothers and sisters followed their mother's religion from their childhood.
Recently, England's Moeen Ali was in the News for 'mixing cricket and politics' by wearing 'Save Gaza' and 'Free Palestine' wristbands during the Test match against India.
While the England all-rounder was left off with a slap on the wrist and warned on the matter, Shehzad could come in for something more severe, should the issue get escalated.
