Assailants opened fire at the home of the newly elected Cricket Canada president, Arvinder Khosa. The shooting occurred on early Wednesday morning, according to a CBC report, and Khosa confirmed that his house (located in the Newton neighbourhood) was targeted around 4:40 am local time, while people were inside, but no one was injured. The incident comes just days after Khosa officially assumed charge as Cricket Canada’s president after a court-ordered leadership vote, replacing Amjad Bajwa.
The appointment also comes at a time when the body’s administration has been accused of having alleged links to organised crime networks. AN earlier CBC report claimed that individuals connected to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang had intimidated members within the Canadian cricket community ahead of the T20 World Cup.
‘Five bullet holes’
According to CBC, at least five bullet holes could be seen in the door, windows and exterior of Khosa’s home. According to Surrey Police, the shooting is believed to be extortion-related. A media relations police officer informed CBC’s Fifth Estate in an email, “An individual associated with the residence that was shot this morning has received extortion-related threats.”
An earlier Fifth Estate investigation revealed that Khosa was connected to local players, who are allegedly part of the Bishnoi gang and also threatened a national team player in 2025.
Past shooting incident
Recently, Cricket Canada has had to deal with another shooting incident. In February and early March, a former board member’s home was shot at in two separate incidents. The former board member was forced to temporarily relocate with his family and then also resigned from Cricket Canada.
Reports also alleged that players and officials were pressured to support the late appointment of Dilpreet Bajwa as skipper before the World Cup. Match-fixing allegations have also been thrown at the squad after unusual wides and no-balls were bowled during a crucial over against New Zealand during the World Cup. The incident took place during the fifth over of New Zealand’s innings, when Canada captain Bajwa bowled. He started with a no-ball, before going wide down the leg side. Eventually, he leaked 15 runs in the over.
A recorded phone call involving ex-Canada head coach Khurram Chohan was also under investigation by the ICC. During the call, he alleged that a few board members forced him to select national team players and that there were attempts to fix games. The body is also dealing with accusations of financial irregularities and administrative misconduct. The ICC has also reportedly frozen Cricket Canada’s funding for six months.
