BCB thanks Virat Kohli after he expresses concern over Bangladesh players following Christchurch shootings

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Friday thanked India captain Virat Kohli after the latter condemned the shooting in two packed mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, that killed several people and standing by the national cricketers of Bangladesh who were near one of the spots.

Nearly 50 people were killed while 20 were seriously injured and the Bangladesh cricketers were reportedly in their bus that was approaching one of the mosques when the shooting started. Bangladesh were set to play New Zealand in a Test match in Christchurch but the game was canceled after the tragedy.

The incident brought back the memory of Lahore 2009 when on a similar March morning, the national cricketers of Sri Lanka experienced a near-fatal terror attack and were airlifted out of the stadium to safety. Pakistan lost their right to host international games in the subsequent years. New Zealand, however, is not known to be a terror-stricken country but this incident would mark a change in its politics and society, a local security analyst said.

Kohli & Indian team members recently played cricket wearing army cap

Kohli tweeted saying the incident in Christchurch was “shocking and tragic” and stood by those who were affected and also the Bangladesh cricket team. Kohli and his team were in New Zealand before Bangladesh for two limited-overs series. The BCB thanked the Indian captain for his kind gesture.

It may be mentioned here that Kohli and his men donned army camouflage caps during the third ODI against Australia in Ranchi recently as a mark of respect to the CRPF jawans martyred in the suicide terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district on February 14. The Indian team also donated its match fees in that game to the National Defence Fund.

Here’s the tweet

India will be playing Bangladesh in one of their two warm-up matches ahead of the ICC World Cup in England and Wales starting May 30. The two teams, which are known for their intense on-field rivalry, will take on each other at the WC on July 2 in Birmingham. In the 2015 edition, Bangladesh were knocked out of the tournament by India in the quarter-finals, thanks to a controversial century from Rohit Sharma.

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