A Pakistani man expelled from Italy for allegedly plotting an attack in the name of the Islamic State (IS) group at one time captained the Italian youth cricket team, media reports say.
Aftab Farook was caught on a wire-tap talking about using a Kalashnikov or bomb to attack targets such as a wine shop in Milan or the airport of Bergamo in northern Italy in an attempt to "scare Europeans," Italian newspapers reported.
Italian authorities charged that Farook, 26, who had lived in Italy for 13 years, was planning to go to Syria to join the militants, and expelled him from the country on August 2.
Sportweek photos from 2009 show him as the captain of the under-19s national cricket team, wearing the Italian colors in international competitions.
Farook worked for the sporting-goods retailer Decathlon and was well-liked by his cricket teammates and neighbors.
But police charged that he had changed over the past year, and had begun beating his wife and forcing her to wear a burqa.
