Threats, corruption and intimidation: Is the Bishnoi gang calling shots at Cricket Canada?

The night was meant to be a celebration. Last July, a group of around 25 cricketers, fresh off a win at a major provincial tournament gathered at a restaurant in Surrey, B.C. 

Amidst the din of conversations and aromas of chicken curry and aloo gobi, what took place has become what sources describe as a defining moment in a dark new era taking over the sport in Canada, allegedly influencing everything from player selection up to the top position at Cricket Canada.

Two players from the tournament made their way from the outside patio to a table inside, where a star on Canada's national men's team was having dinner with another group. 

The national player — whom the fifth estate is not naming to protect his safety — stepped to one side of the restaurant where the two players issued a stark warning.

According to sources, they claimed they represented the Bishnoi gang — a violent criminal group designated a terrorist entity in Canada. They told the star that if he didn't support the rise of a young player named Dilpreet Bajwa and another player on the men's provincial team and the national team, he and his family would face consequences.  

"So they straight up said this wording to him, that ‘You must take care of these guys. These guys should not get dropped from the team. If they do, you are in trouble.' Obviously that was very scary for him," said a man we're calling Noah, whom the national player spoke to shortly after the incident.

Noah is not his real name. The fifth estate is not identifying him because, like the national team player, he's received death threats: "We know where you live…. You won't be able to run away from the Bishnoi Group," said Noah, describing a text he received in Hindi viewed by the fifth