An Indian working as a support staff in Bangladesh Cricket Team recounts the horror of the Christchurch attack

It was the holy Muslim day of Friday, and the Bangladesh cricket team decided to offer prayers at one of the mosques’ in New Zealand’s Christchurch city, where they were to play the third Test match against the hosts. But they ended up praying for their own lives as they narrowly escaped a terror attack inside the mosque which is close to the Hagley Oval cricket stadium. The players heard the gunshots from the bus itself and even saw some of the victims lose their lives, before lying on the floor of the bus for their safety.

At least 40 people were killed and more than 20 injured in the attack, which was unexpected to everyone as New Zealand is considered one of the most peaceful countries in the world. Bangladesh’s support staff includes an Indian too, who works as the team’s video analyst. Shrinivas, as he is called, narrated what exactly the team bus encountered. He said that initially, they didn’t even realise that it was a terror attack.

“It was a few metres away from the mosque and we suddenly heard gunshots. Neither the players nor me initially realised what was happening. Suddenly we saw this woman fainting on the road. We thought it was a medical emergency and some of the boys wanted to get down from the bus and help the lady,” Shrinivas was quoted as saying to the media.

The Bangladesh team was escorted by the police 

“However, we realised that it was something much bigger than what we had thought. We saw people running for their lives and blood everywhere and suddenly we were all told to lie down quietly on the floor of the bus. I don’t know for how many minutes we lay on the floor of the bus. Once we understood, everyone was calm and did what was told,” he added.

The police arrived sometime later and escorted the team to the cricket ground from the backdoor of the bus.

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