Former captain of Bangladesh national cricket team Khaled Masud Pilot's father drowned in a pond in Sagorpara area of the city on Sunday.

Pilot's father Shamsul Islam Mollah, 78, a former national team footballer, went to the pond in the area around 11:30am for taking bath and drowned.

On information, a diver team of Fire Service rushed to the spot and retrieved the body around 2:30pm, said Farhad Hossain, station officer of Rajshahi Fire Service and Civil Defense.

Pilot is now on the way home from Dhaka, said family sources.

Meanwhile, Information Minister Hasanul Haque Inu expressed his deep shock at the death.

Besides, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) expressed deep shock at the death.

The BCB extended condolences and heartfelt sympathies to the bereaved family members of the footballer.