Tigers urged to move on from Christchurch bloodshed

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) advised the players to move on from the dreadful incident in Christchurch where they survived a close shaves.

The BCB urged the players to stay with their family, forgetting all those happened in front of them in a bid to get out of the traumatic condition.

The board also wants to keep the cricket backseat for the time being and let the players decide to when they would return to cricket ground.

“Apart from Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim, all of the players were set to play the ongoing Dhaka Premier League (DPL) but it was not now mandatory for them,” said BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury.

“The president advised them to not to think about cricket now and stay with their family. As he said that the board will co-operate them in bringing back to the normal life, we have allowed them to decide when they will back to the cricket,” Chowdhury told BSS here today.

“At the moment, we don’t want them to talk to anybody else with the incident what happened in Christchurch. They are advised to be with their family and their family is advised to help them get out of the trauma.”

By the own admission of the players, they were in fact three to four minutes from being caught up in massacre as they were going to perform Jumma prayers in Al Noor Mosque, in which the terrorist fired openly, leaving several dead.

In the brutal shootout carried out at two different Mosques left at least 49 people dead and 47 other injured, prompting New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to term it a terrorist attack and one of a darkest days of the country.

“I cannot describe what is going inside us, what we have seen,” stand-in skipper Mahmudullah told reporters upon arrival. “The only thing I can say is that we are very lucky. With all of your prayers including our family members’ prayers now we could return here alive.”

“Actually this incident was much unexpected, none had expected this. I could not describe that scene. I am personally, and all of us in the team could not sleep properly [at night].”

In the wake of the situation, the series concluding third Test for which the Tigers were preparing was called off after the New Zealand Cricket (NZC) and Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) reached in a consensus.

Watching the bloodshed in live, the players were such traumatic state that they were not ready to stay at a single moment in New Zealand. The BCB, however, managed to get them the first available flight to bring them back at home, much to the relief of the players and their family.

They looked visibly shaken when they landed in the country, prompting many to stress on counseling them in a bid to get out of the trauma. Opener Tamim Iqbal also said after the incident that they might need counseling.

Whether they need counseling, will be decided later, said Nizamuddin Chowdhury.

“As I said earlier, they need rest at the moment. We don’t want to talk with them about this matter. And they are also advised not to talk with this issue. Whether they need any counseling or any other thing, will be decided by the board and the team management,” he said.

Chowdhury said the board also wants to shift the focus towards the ICC Cricket World Cup which is an important tournament for them, erasing what happened in Christchurch.

“As the world cup is approaching fast, we want to shift our focus on that event. From now on, this is the only thing that we’ll think about. What happened in Christchurch is now past for us. Regarding the team’s security in overseas tour, we’ll continue to work but at the moment, the world cup is our top most priority,” he concluded.