Bangladesh cricketers back in Dhaka

Bangladesh’s cricket team arrived in Dhaka after narrowly avoiding being involved in the worst mass shooting in New Zealand.

They reached Dhaka at 10:40pm on Saturday, a day after a gunman killed 49 people and wounded more than 20 during Friday prayers at two mosques in Christchurch.

The team arrived at the Dhaka airport by a Singapore Airlines flight, Bangladesh Cricket Board Media Committee Chairman Jalal Yunus told bdnews24.com.

The Bangladesh team were on a bus close to the Al Noor mosque, where 41 people died, on the eve of the third test at nearby Hagley Oval when the shooting began.

The test match, which had been scheduled to start on Saturday, was cancelled after the shooting.

Violent crime is extremely rare in New Zealand and the Bangladesh Cricket Board said the attacks had now changed their perception about team security on tours.

“We’ll demand proper security wherever our team goes in future,” BCB President Nazmul Hassan told reporters in Dhaka on Friday. “If a country provides proper security as per our demand, then we will go, otherwise not.”